Poké Wars: The Coalescence
by Cornova
Summary: I see my reflection, and I don't recognize myself anymore. How am I still sane after all the fear, the loss, and the killing? I remind myself it's because of my friends, helping me survive the new world of Pokemon...but what would I do if I lost them?
1. Great Minds

**Sequel to Poke Wars: the Subsistence**

* * *

**September 10**

**

* * *

**

A single drop of dew clung desperately to the leaf that bent and threatened to buckle under its weight. Light that managed to filter through the droplet left a plethora of multicolored rainbows that shifted and dimly colored the dirt.

A gentle breeze severed the connection between the foliage and moisture, gravity pulling the droplet to the floor.

The semi reflective surface of the droplet caught the darting figures from a few meters away. Their movements were quick and nimble, not a single action was wasted. Three Pidgeottos pecked the grass for seeds; a fourth one perched atop the branch of a tree, overseeing their work.

The sudden rustle of the branch was their only warning.

A warm mist of red hung in the air from a spray of blood as cold steel bit into the feathery shoulder, going through muscle and bone. The other Pidgeottos began to retreat, but they were already dead.

Something skewered through one of the Pidgeotto's chest, its body violently convulsing until something sparked and set the body aflame from the inside. A plume of feathers fell like confetti from above when a thirteen-inch combat knife cut through the air, sheathing itself into the perched Pidgeotto's wing.

The last Pidgeotto had made it the farther than the others, spreading its wings to take to the air. A hulking shadow behind it had other plans. The bulky behemoth's arms wrapped around the Pidgeotto's frame, bones broke like they were made of toothpicks. The monstrous arms slid up the Pidgeotto's body, seizing its neck and swiftly snapping it.

The drop of dew hit the ground.

A soft thud came as the fourth Pidgeotto hit the ground, writhing in pain while wriggling across the ground to get away. A steel-toed boot slammed onto the Pidgeotto's tail, grabbing the hilt of the knife and pulling it out of the Pokemon's wing. The blade spun gracefully in the giant hands that briefly held them.

The motions were fluid, almost effortless but at the same time executed masterfully as the blade sunk into the Pidgeotto's brain. The body went limp instantly, warmth slowly beginning to recede from its body.

Surge pulled his knife out of the Pidgeotto, bringing the blade to his lips and tasting the blood. The scent brought memories to Surge, back to his old days when he was young. He would be lying if he had said that the war hadn't twisted him into an insane son of bitch. War had done that to many of his comrades, most of them were gone now. If the years hadn't killed them, then the Pokemon of this era had.

"Oi, Sam. Ya want in on this or what?" Surge invited, inspecting his red stained teeth on the now clean surface of his knife.

"It's Samurai…and no. I would rather not partake in that ritual" Samurai declined politely as he could.

"If war training has taught me anythin, it's when a person's lyin. Ya don't have ta act like someone yer not, I ain't. But suit yerself. It's odd though, I can tell just by looking ya in the eyes. You're the bloodthirsty type," Surge concluded as started to pick up the bodies of their next meal.

Samurai tried not to flinch at Surge's words, or at least let him know that he had flinched. He absentmindedly flicked his blade, the force wiping it of the blood that stained the surface of his katana. Samurai raised the weapon to his eyes as if to inspect if it was clean or not. In reality he used its surface to see his own reflective pools on the mirrored surface.

His lips pursed into a fine white line, his teeth gritted as his heartbeat started to accelerate. The smell of blood made his mind go blank with ecstasy, but he quickly barred the sensation from his mind. What surprised him was the pair of eyes that he looked at did not belong to him, or at least he didn't think they did at first.

The changes were subtle, but he noticed nonetheless that his own eyes were different. Thousands of questions buzzed through his mind like the endless drone of busy Beedrills, asking himself how his eyes had changed, whether it was an effect from battles or experience. He dared not ask anyone for an answer, risking that they did not know the answer and became too involved, eventually delving too deep.

His pupils seemed elongated and narrower, the color of his corneas getting slightly brighter. He suddenly felt that the amount of time that he was staring at his sword had been too long, smoothly sliding it back into the sheath and distracting himself with Surge as he approached his Raichu.

Surge held a Pidgeotto over each shoulder, one Pidgeotto's head hung at an unnatural angle with its tongue drooping out of its mouth.

"Raichu! Ya did it again! I told ya ta use half ya strength," Surge casually reprimanded.

Raichu pulled the edge of his lightning bolt tail out from the dead Pokemon's body before he spoke back in defense, Surge nodding as if he understood from Samurai's point of view.

"Whaddya mean that was half ya strength? Ah hell, fine then. Just use an eighth. I mean look at this; ya charred him in an out. No one's gonna eat that. You ain't."

"Rai Rai Raichu"

"I ain't gonna eat that. You know how I like my meat, medium rare" Surge replied to Samurai's surprise.

Samurai was skeptical that Surge had actually understood his Pokemon at all, probably all responses were guesswork. Then again, he had watched Ash over the past couple of days when he and Pikachu were conversing, Ash seemingly understanding.

He was a little older than Ash; he'd had his Pokemon longer than Ash. So why could Ash seemingly understand his Pokemon's language, more specifically his Pikachu?

Did Ash have some ability that he did not posses?

"Let's start headin back," Surge said, breaking Samurai's train of thought. Samurai bent down and lifted the Pokemon's corpse over his shoulder, trudging back with Surge to their encampment a mile or two away.

* * *

Ash waited patiently for the others to arrive, along with Brock and Dawn who were helping to get the area ready for the food that everyone was out gathering. His role had been to stay and protect the encampment while he waited. Ash's stomach grumbled angrily, Dawn and Brock had chosen to ignore his stomach's complaints. While he waited, Ash had busied himself by thinking of how he was going to help the others, without the use of his Pokemon.

He envied Samurai, Tracy, and Surge for having the training to fight Pokemon toe to toe. Ash wished that he himself could fight like them, yet part of him did not want to emulate them entirely. He did not fancy himself using a katana, a pipe, or a combat knife. It would take him a long time to gain the experience and strength needed to join them.

The hairs on the back of his neck rose, his body tensed up when the bushes from across the clearing rustled. Ash noticed that Pikachu was not reacting to the approach of whatever came to them. Misty walked casually towards them, her Politoad behind her and carrying a dead Raticate.

Politoad dropped the Raticate near the makeshift outdoor kitchen. Dawn inspected the wound, seeing that a hole had been punched through its heart, probably from a Water Gun.

"I'm the first one here?" Misty exclaimed.

"Yes but you're the one to bring the least and venture the least amount of distance" Tracy said as he and his Scizor emerged from the forest, both of them carrying several Ratattas.

The exTeam Rocket members came next, carrying a large bundle of berries. AJ and his Sandslash came with a few Dugdrio skewered on Sandslash's claws. Samurai and Surge came last; their catches were by far the most amount of meat of the entire group.

Brock and Dawn went to work, Jessie and Misty were taking notes, and helping out around the kitchen while Brock and Dawn instructed them. Dawn smiled at the idea of being able to teach something to people older than her. She was nowhere near as skilled as Brock in cooking, but she knew enough to be able to teach something to the others. Misty and Jessie were not accustomed to cooking, usually surviving off of other people's cooking or packaged foods.

Samurai sat furthest from the group, every time that Ash or someone attempted to make eye contact with him, he turned away. Ash was curious to find out was up with Samurai but chose to press further. I Samurai didn't want to indulge on what was on his mind, he was at liberty to do so.

Ash turned his attention to the four cooks, Misty and Jessie busy working at skinning the Pokemon that they had brought. The both of them were disgusted, despite that they had all eat meat before. People had become so detached to preparing animals, when faced with having to do it themselves, they were disgusted and charged someone else to do it.

Misty and Jessie were now skinning the Pidgeottos that Samurai and Surge had caught. Ash felt somewhat disturbed at watching them do that to the Pokemon's body, seeing his old Pidgeotto in a similar situation. In a sense, he realized that was why so many people had become vegetarians in the world of Pokemon.

He himself had considered it, but he found the taste of burgers to be irresistible. Ash rationalized that since Pokemon ate other Pokemon, it was natural for him to want to eat meat. No matter how much he justified himself, he didn't feel inclined to eat the Pidgeottos, which had the most meat of all the things they had on hand.

Surge's supplies had run out in the several days that they had been traveling in the woods. When scouting for food, Ash occasionally accompanied them, in the process; his Staravia had evolved into a Staraptor. Turtwig, Chimchar, Buizel, and Croconaw had also evolved one level.

* * *

Ash was almost halfway done with his feast when Brock and Dawn had finished putting away all their supplies and reverting their kitchen back into a forest clearing. He felt a cold breeze pass over his shoulder. The breeze was colder than normal, it was noon now and sunny as ever, with no clouds in the sky.

At the edge of the forest stood a little girl dressed in white.

She wore a yellow sunhat wrapped with a scarlet ribbon; hair like Dawn's cascaded down her shoulders. Her dress billowed by a wind that did not seem to affect anything around but her. Every inch of her skin was bleached white, piercing lavender eyes stared back at Ash.

The little girl laughed, her sights set on Ash, pale fingers beckoned Ash into her direction. She turned and began to run, shimmering out of existence, a ghostly mist formed behind her, aiding in her dematerialization. Ash dropped his grilled Rattata shish kabob and began to run.

Pikachu was at his side without a single question. Whether Pikachu seen what Ash had seen or not, he ran without hesitation. The others began to cry out for Ash, running after him as they gathered their things. Samurai quickly outran the others and caught up with Ash.

Pikachu stopped, but Ash continued forward until Samurai grabbed him by the collar. Just a few inches more and Ash would've fallen over a cliff that spanned more than twenty meters down.

"Thanks" Ash said, looking down below to the ocean of woods that flooded the continent as far the eye could see. Ahead, there was a large clearing in the center of the woods, the place that Ash knew as Saffron City. Ash couldn't help but laugh at the fact that he had almost fallen down the same cliff he had years ago.

From what Ash could see, the city seemed desolate and abandoned like all the other cities they had encountered. Ash recognized the girl that he had just seen; it had been so many years since he had seen that girl. She had wanted him to follow her; she was leading him to the city. An abundance of hope took residence within his heart at the thought that she would be there, waiting for him…them.

* * *

The others quickly caught up with Ash as he stood outside of a massive structure in the desolate city that they entered. Surge instantly took notice of the fact that every window in the town was smashed. From Tracy's observations, he saw that they had been broken inwards, even the windows from the highest floors. Samurai saw that every window was perfectly broken, no jagged pieces of glass was left on the window.

Several buildings had toppled, all of them leaning in the same direction as if something had exploded and knocked them all down. There was no burns to show that any explosions had taken place, the only place left standing, was the gym that they stood in front of.

Ash motioned for the automatic doors, but they made no intention of moving. Pikachu easily slammed the doors down with an Iron Tail, doing so without Ash's consent. He had wanted to enter in a less brute manner, seeing as how they were entering her gym and damaging it.

"Next time, Pikachu, warn me before you do that" Ash advised, Pikachu nodded and apologized for going ahead and attacking without his orders.

A soft purple mist hugged the floor, carpeting most of it for as far as they could see. The interior reminded them of a cave, yellow catacomb fangs that sheathed into the foggy floor that flowed like a river. The lights that illuminated the way were from the candles that seemed to have been burning for days and were on their last ounces of wax.

The lights from certain hallways began to be blown out my some invisible wind; only one path remained untouched. The others watched Ash leading the way in front of them, suddenly jumping as if something had snuck up on him.

"Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked, recognizing the place easily, seeing as the last time she had been there, she had been a doll.

"You didn't hear that?" Ash said, turning in their direction and staring at them incredulously.

"Hear what?" Brock replied, Ash turning his back on them before looking like he was deep in thought.

"Nothing. Never mind" Ash said, walking forwards with gusto.

After a few minutes of walking in silence, Dawn worked up the nerve to speak.

"Ash, do you even know where you're going?" Dawn asked.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah…" Ash replied absentmindedly.

"_This way_" the voice seemingly whispered into his ear and echoed through the depths of his mind. Ash followed where the voice told him to go, recognizing it somewhat. He knew he could trust the voice that spoke into his head, interested to know that she could do that now.

"_I've been waiting so long for you_," Her voice said once more, just before he reached the doors to her room. The doors opened inwardly by themselves just before something pounced on Ash. Oddly enough, Samurai did not draw his sword although part of his instincts told him to do so, yet another set of his instincts that he had recently gained made him feel calm. The others jumped at the sudden movement, Pikachu who had been walking beside Ash smiled.

"Ash, it's been so long," said the woman.

Ash's vision darkened in an instant, a wave of warmth embraced his face and body. Surge, Samurai, and Tracy were tempted to react to the sudden movement, but something made it so that they were incapable of moving. Their bodies were frozen; they found that they could not even blink anymore.

Dawn and Misty quickly became enraged at seeing Ash being buried in Sabrina's ample bosom. Sabrina's chin nuzzled into Ash's jet black hair, her arms wrapped around his head and pulling him as if she intended to physically meld with him. Ash's arms flailed at the lack of oxygen reaching his brain. It took Sabrina a few seconds before she realized this and let him go. The others suddenly felt the control of their body now relinquished back to them.

"It's nice to see you too, Sabrina" Ash gasped, making up for lost air. Sabrina's straight, violet hair flowed neatly behind her back. Her new outfit consisted of a bright red long sleeve top, skirt, and boots. The cuffs of her sleeves were golden; underneath the red ensemble she wore a thin black fabric that covered her seemingly bare stomach and legs.

Her piercing blue eyes rested on each person for several seconds, peeling away at the layers of their vessels and staring straight into their souls. Her eyes glowed red, her pupils became dark slits temporarily before reverting back to normal. Everyone but Ash felt on edge. In fact, Sabrina never once gazed in Ash's general direction with her glowing eyes.

Nice to see you again, Brock, Misty. I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting, Dawn, Tracy, AJ, Jessie, James, Meowth…and Lt Surge and Samurai" Sabrina toyed with the words, staring at the last two people she had named, knowing their real names full well.

With the exception of Brock, Ash, and Misty, the others gasped in surprise, although Surge suppressed his and tried to withhold his shock.

"H-how did you know our names? We've never met before, have we?" Tracy asked.

"It was simple, I merely just read your minds. I've been waiting for all of you for quite some time now, but I must say, I had no idea that you had all gone through so much" She said with admiration, her eyes locked on Surge.

Surge and Samurai visibly stiffened, the very essence of their privacy was now stripped before the women in their midst. In the weeks that they had been struggling to survive, she had seen it all in a second. Every feeling, every thought, every emotion was now hers.

Surge had heard of a child prodigy becoming a gym leader in Kanto years back, it was becoming well known that she had been undefeated up until four years ago. He had never looked into the rumor, seeing no reason to since it didn't tickle his fancy. The way she looked at him, made him feel that she had seen more than just the journey that the others had went through.

His years of service, the horrors of war that made themselves into his perpetual nightmares, his lusts, his ideologies, the most sacred of rights to a human being that was the privacy of their own mind was now gone in one of her blinks. He felt utterly naked before her. Never before had he felt so humiliated, so exposed, so angry with someone that he knew that he couldn't and shouldn't touch.

Had he known, he would've set up a mental barrier, but it was now too late, she had gone in and taken what she had wanted, which was everything. There was nothing left hide except what went on from then, and even then that may have not have been safe as she could read his very soul again.

Samurai had brushed against death, went into the belly of the beast in a Beedrill hive, and seen a titan Pokemon, but nothing scared him more than what stood in front of him. He knew that his sudden restriction of movement came from her. She had learned more about his life than anyone he had ever known.

The very warmth of his blood fueled by anger felt stolen from him and replaced with a sense of caution. What gave her the right to prod into their minds and see everything that they had worked so hard to keep from conversation and the light of day? Yet, what overwhelmed all of his other senses was the fear that gripped his heart. He knew that had she wanted to, she could kill all of them on a whim.

"I noticed that you changed your hair" Brock pointed out, surprising Misty that he hadn't tried to flirt with her. Then again, he had also been turned into a doll along with her when they had first met Sabrina.

"Very astute of you, Brock" Sabrina smiled, running her fingers through the hair. "But yes, you're right. I dyed it this color a while back" She explained, Ash remembering that she had once had green hair.

"Wait, you said that you were expecting us?" James pointed out.

"Yes, I looked into the future and foresaw your arrival. I've been waiting here for twenty three days" Sabrina enlightened.

"Twenty three days, dats about da time dat all dis stuff started" Meowth pointed out.

"I believe that would explain how my psychic abilities have strengthened tremendously." Sabrina remarked, and for once, she was in the know.

"How can that be possible? I thought the removal of the dampeners could only affect Pokemon!" AJ retorted.

"The ability to have psychic abilities is the same for everyone, it's how in tune you are with it that shows how powerful your psychic ability is. Pokemon are more in tune with nature and psychic abilities, especially psychic Pokemon. Even Pokemon who aren't psychic, can learn psychic moves, humans are no different. Any human can learn to delve deep enough into their minds and bring out their ability to use their unconscious psychic powers. There are certain rare individuals that are born to be more in tune with their psychic abilities than others, like myself. To reach my level of power before the dampeners would require decades of training and meditation" Sabrina pointed out.

The idea of being eligible to use psychic powers was intriguing to Ash until he realized the dedication and time it would take to achieve such a goal. It was another option for fighting for him to take, but once again he felt that it wasn't what he was looking for. He knew that if he tried to learn that style, it wouldn't fit right, forcing it would only prove detrimental. Although no one was asking it of him, he still felt pressured to find a way to join the fight instead of watching by the sidelines.

"What happened to all the people to the city?" Brock asked.

"On the day that the Pokemon had their dampeners removed, the psychics of this gym also went into a frenzy, including me. We couldn't really control our powers and the people began to flee" Sabrina replied, making sure that the others could not tell that she had recited this answer before.

"That would explain why all the windows were broken and shattered towards the interior," Tracy mumbled. Tracy began to fumble with his Pokeglov, aiming it at Sabrina who made no attempt to dodge it. The screen on the Pokeglov spiked several times, Tracy trying to contain his surprise.

"She's telling the truth. The dampeners in her brain have been deactivated," Tracy whispered.

"Of course, why would I have any reason to lie" Sabrina replied smugly.

"We know you don't, but it's still hard to believe. I mean, we never thought that humans could have dampeners. On that day, none of us went crazy like our Pokemon did" Dawn said.

"Maybe the more in tune you are with an ability that Pokemon have, the more you're affected by the dampener removal" James suggested.

"That just might be the case," Tracy mumbled, turning off the Pokeglov.

"So Sabrina, what have you been doing all this time while you were waiting for us?" Ash inquired.

"I was cleaning the place up for when you guys came here," Sabrina answered. She began to head back into the fighting chamber where trainers would come to challenge her. Several holes were in the ceiling, sunlight poured through them and illuminated sections of the floor.

"You guys can stay here for the night. I'll get my things ready so that we can leave in the morning. Feel free to stock up on the supplies that I have" Sabrina offered.

"I can patch up those holes on the roof no problem," Brock recommended.

"There's no need since we'll be leaving tomorrow" Sabrina responded.

"Well until then let's patch up the holes with something temporary so that the heat doesn't escape and we don't sleep in the cold" Ash advised, summoning Mr. Mime with the flick of a finger. Mr. Mime was quick to start placing barriers over the holes.

"Where are the others? Where are your parents?" Brock asked, one of the few people in the group that had known anything about Sabrina from their previous visit.

The haughty smile that she wore suddenly shattered; her eyes were cast down to the ground with a frown on her lips.

"When the dampeners were removed, the psychic trainers in here went into a frenzy, much like the Pokemon did from what I could tell in your memories. On top of the fact that their own psychic Pokemon were released and frenzied, everyone was firing their psychic attacks randomly. In the craziness, a lot of people and Pokemon died, I myself also launched a few attacks, but I couldn't control myself. I think there may have been several psychic trainers that might've accidentally attacked me without knowing, I don't know if they did, I can't remember anything other than the vision that I got during my dampener removal. The past few days I've been removing the bodies and the smell of the blood from this place" Sabrina said under her breath before walking away into a dark hallway.

Brock decided not to press further, going the opposite direction in hopes that it would take him to the kitchen. Mr. Mime eyed the hallway where Sabrina had been only seconds ago. He shuddered, Sabrina's voice echoing through his mind over and over again, and there was nothing that he could do to stop her if she so ever wanted to speak.

"_You don't think anyone knows what you did…but I do_."

* * *

Samurai and Surge refused to venture further into the house, deciding to stay outside and guard the gym. Sabrina passed by them, telling them that the act was pointless, since there were no Pokemon for miles. The two of them ignored her, knowing full well that she could possibly be reading their minds at the moment and seeing how much they disapproved of her. Whether or not she knew, she showed no sign of caring whatsoever.

Night quickly came over Saffron, stars seemed to come from the earth; the thousands of glass shards reflected the stars in the night sky. Surge pulled out a cigarette, pressing it against Raichu's sparking cheek and lighting it up. He silently lifted the box and aimed it at Samurai. Samurai shook his head; Surge shrugged his shoulders and slipped the pack of cigarettes back into one of his many pockets.

Had Sabrina been any other person, he would've asked her if she had a beer, whiskey, vodka, or scotch. For the time being, he would suffice with cigarettes he had. After a few minutes, he dropped the cigarette onto the floor, stomping it out the tip of his boot, the tobacco and ashes fusing into the rest of the pile at Surge's feet.

Samurai wrinkled his nose at the lingering smell of tobacco, trying to ignore the hunger that silently growled at him. He couldn't help but think about how he might end up sleeping against the wall while still standing up. The doorway between the two warriors opened up.

Samurai and Surge tried not to jump and lunge at the sudden break in the calm and starry night. The cigarette stench was suddenly lifted from the area the instant that Sabrina left the gym.

"You don't have to wait out here. You're wasting your time. Come inside and sleep, stop being so stubborn" Sabrina urged.

"No thanks, we're fine out here" Surge spoke for the both of them.

"Suit yourselves" Sabrina relented, walking past them into the open air and staring at the night sky.

Samurai unsheathed his sword, charging towards her at full speed, as silently as he could while her back was still facing him. He leapt, bringing the blade over his head and swinging it with the utmost accuracy and precision. His blade never connected with Sabrina's skull, merely an inch or two away the immaculate river of hair.

Samurai floated in the air, unable to move a single muscle no matter how much he willed himself to. Sabrina continued to have his back towards him for several seconds before finally turning to meet him.

"You know, there are better ways to gauge your strength against me, but then again you wanted to see how far you could get. Just so you know, I was aware of your intention to attack me before I even exited the room. I wasn't sure why, but I wanted to know if the end result would be the same. I said nothing to provoke you, I've been nothing but polite towards all of you, seeing that we will be working together in the foreseeable future and you are allied to Ash. Do you know how easy it would be for me to crush your heart from inside your body or make your head explode? Or maybe I could crumple you and your armor into a little ball" Sabrina whispered testily, her eyes glowing red and her pupils turning back into slits.

Samurai's eyes widened in horror at the suggestion.

"Oh, but I know all about that armor, how important it is to you, how its been passed on from generation to generation" Sabrina smiled.

"You have no right to know that!" Samurai barked, neither the saliva that flew from his mouth nor the scent of his breath even managed to touch Sabrina, psychically moving them away from her.

"I apologize for reading your mind. I find it a lot easier to do that than go through the torturous process of getting to know you the long and boring way. If it means so much to you, then I can just forget what I know about you and remember never to read your mind" Sabrina offered.

Samurai remained silent, staring at her with an apathetic mask but knew that he could hide nothing from her.

"_I don't care if you don't believe me, I don't need you to_" Samurai heard Sabrina say inside his own mind.

"_I know all about you, what you are, what you're going to become. It is out of kindness alone that I've felt that I don't need to share with the others what's happening to you_."

The news made Samurai gasp, the idea that what was plaguing him would change him. She knew something that he didn't, something that had been bothering him for some time now.

"Tell me! Please!" Samurai almost begging, just the knowledge of what was to happen to him would suffice for the moment. Knowing would end his suffering as to whether he became a monster and died of a sickness.

"_I don't think so_" Sabrina spat.

"You!-" was all Samurai could manage to say before Sabrina sent him flying into the wall where he had once leaned against. It crumbled behind upon collision; Samurai's crumpled form lied there as he had passed out.

Sabrina easily stopped the combat knife that was thrown at her, holding it in mid air. Surge's feet scrapped along the ground, invisible hooks dragged him towards where Sabrina stood. He could do nothing to stop himself from sliding along the pavement, he couldn't even struggle.

The tip of his blade was now aimed at his throat, getting closer and closer to tasting the skin, muscle, and blood of its wielder. Just before it got too close, it dropped onto the ground at Surge's feet.

"Pick it up" Sabrina ordered.

Surge felt Sabrina's hold on him temporarily leave, every aspect of his instinct told him to lunge at her and attack, but he knew better than that, she probably already knew as well. When it became apparent that Surge had refused to do what Sabrina had asked by just standing there and staring at her, Sabrina took matters back into her hands.

Surge suddenly felt like a puppet, feeling something now move his body, making him bend down and grab his own knife. He lifted it and pointed it at his throat, in a sense; she could make Surge kill himself.

"I could be a real asset or a real pain in the ass for you. I'm on this team whether you like it or not, so you'd better get used to me, or leave. So when he wakes up over there, tell him and remember this yourself. Don't fuck with me," Sabrina hissed, walking past him and entered the gym.

Raichu fired one of his strongest lightning attacks, only to have it deflected into the sky without so much as even a look in his general direction or the lifting of her hand. No more attacks came from Raichu, backing away from her before looking at his friend and master. Surge stood silently, holding the knife against his skin briefly before letting his hand go limp at his side and let the knife fall to the ground.

* * *

Ash, Tracy, Brock, James, Meowth, Jessie, and AJ had fallen asleep, making the vacant rooms of use and sleeping in them individually instead of sleeping in close proximity of each other like the nights before. Sabrina strolled silently towards the direction of Ash's room, gradually slipping out of her outfit as she walked.

"Where do you thinks you're headed?" Misty asked, unable to hear Sabrina softly swear under her breath. She had been so distracted that she hadn't noticed Misty's presence there, expecting everyone to be asleep already, considering it was already so late and she figured they must have been tired of sleeping on the ground and traveling while trying to survive.

"I know for a fact that all the rooms over there are already filled" Dawn pointed out.

Sabrina closed her eyes and smiled, opening them once more, "I could ask you all the same thing, but there's no reason for me to lie. I was just planning to slip into Ash's bed and sleep," Sabrina said nonchalantly.

Both Misty and Dawn blushed and glared, they hadn't expected her to be so open about her intentions.

"How cute that the two girls that love Ash are trying so hard to keep him away from any possible options" Sabrina cooed.

Dawn's eyes widened, Misty's shocked gaze turning to Dawn who was now flabbergasted.

"Dawn…you lo-" Misty began.

"Oh, I don't think it's love. I think it's merely an infatuation she has for him. You know she watched you when you were about to kiss him and when you talked with him. She even tried to kiss him herself but couldn't bring herself to do it" Sabrina sneered.

Dawn had turned redder than before, wanting nothing more than the earth to swallow her up and hide her underground for eternity. She covered her eyes with her hands, she felt like her face was on fire. She never thought anyone would've learned what she had done, the last people she wanted for them to know was Misty and Ash.

"You yourself aren't as pure as you let everyone think you are. Oh, those lonely nights when your sisters were out having fun, leaving poor little you all alone to fend for yourself and take care of the gym. It must've been boring, being all by your lonesome. But then again you had so much privacy, so much freedom to do what you wanted, when you wanted. Those nights when you thought of Ash…calling out his name…" Sabrina teased.

Misty turned pink, a mixture of rage and embarrassment, but also beginning to turn pale. Dawn didn't fully understand, one look at her and Sabrina could already tell that Dawn was still unaware of these kinds of things.

"I've seen into the future several times and for all you two know, I could be his lover. His wife? Or I might not. One of you could take that place; I'm not sure whether or not the future is set in stone" Sabrina giggled; clearly enjoying every ounce of despair she managed to wring out of each girl.

Every single word was like a harsh blow, the girls could say nothing in the midst of the onslaught. How could they, Sabrina was holding all the cards, whereas their hands were full of jokers in plain sight.

"Well, that was fun. I needed a laugh, but I'm not in the mood anymore. I guess I'll call it a night. You two can do what you want with Ash if that's what you two were planning tonight. Might as well do what you can with him for the time being, until I start. You know, I thought that after all this time you would've put out a little more Misty, but you're still as flat as a ten year old boy. Dawn still has a lot of growing to do, but you might surpass Misty in that aspect from what your mom's genes are like, but I doubt that you'll pass me. Oh well, it was nice talk- wait; I was doing all the talking. Anyway, sleep well you two" Sabrina snickered and walked in the other direction and headed to her own room.

Dawn and Misty stood silently, staring down at their feet for a few moments. Their vision eventually fell onto their chests, both of them cupping it for emphasis before sighing in defeat. In reality they had been planning to go to Ash's room, as to what they were going to do, they themselves were not sure yet.

They silently walked back to their rooms in the darkness, shutting the doors behind them and waiting for sleep to take them as they lied in their beds, staring at the ceiling, blushes remained unerased from their faces.

* * *

The door to Sabrina's room slid open and shut behind her, locking with a click. All of this without a single lift of a finger.

Sabrina's back pressed up against the wall, sighing somberly for a few moments. Gengar phased through the wall, checking up on her periodically like he usually did.

"I bet you've noticed that they arrived like I said they would" Sabrina said to him. Gengar nodded when Alakazam teleported into the room.

"Thanks for patrolling all those days and nights, go to sleep you two, we'll be leaving in the morning," she said. Alakazam and Gengar approached her and returned themselves to their Poke balls.

Once they had returned, she lifted her fist, punching herself on the cheek with a good amount of strength. Sabrina was angry, not at the others, but at herself.

"_Why? Why do I… have to be such a bitch_?" She asked herself, slumping down onto the ground and hugging her knees to her chest. She had counted the days to their arrival; it was one of the only thoughts that cheered her up. The twenty-three days she had spent alone were even darker than before she met Ash.

Ash's Haunter that had evolved into a Gengar tried his best to cheer her up, but none of his antics seemed to get through to her. After Ash had left she began to interact with people more. She began to spend more time with her parent, have family outings, dinner, laugh, and tell jokes of her own.

She began to befriend the people in her gym and the people in her town.

Then that voice appeared inside her head.

Her brain felt like it was on fire, the blinding pain made her lash out at everything, her powers on a rampage. She could hear it tell her to reclaim the world, to no longer let humans enslave them. The language was translated for her because of her psychic ability, but she could tell the voice was not human.

When the pain ended, she saw the dead bodies of former friends and the destruction of her gym. Blood coated the walls, she ran to escape the smell and found herself outside of her gym, only to see that the city was now also in shambles. Everyone in the town was dead, their brains had been crushed from inside their own skulls, including her parents.

At first, she thought that she had killed everyone in the city, but it was her Alakazam and Gengar that told it was not her fault. The damages and death had come mostly from the brainwaves of the psychics that trained in her gym, their powers running rampant, destroying and killing everything at random, including themselves.

Her psychic defense had protected her against most of the attacks, but upon learning that everyone that had once been dear to her was now dead, she wished it hadn't. During the first week she discovered the boost in her psychic abilities, allowing her to read her Pokemon's mind.

She began to experiment with moving heavy objects, moving them faster, doing things with more precision. Over the next several days, she buried every single person who had died, finding a suitable resting place for all of them, but unable to make gravestones for all of them as most of them were strangers to her.

She cleaned up the destruction that had laid waste to her gym, but she could not repair the damages done on it. After burying so many people, the smell of blood and the sight of death no longer made her gag, she was accustomed to it, numb to the effects it used to give her.

She eventually used Future Sight, allowing her to temporarily see into the future. She saw Ash's arrival just before she was deciding to leave Saffron and find another town. Although Alakazam and Gengar kept her company, she felt utterly alone, trying to be happy around them since they were trying so hard to be there for her, especially Haunter. Haunter had become a loyal companion that had won her many battles in the past few years ever since she got him from Ash.

To keep herself entertained, she continued to use Future Sight, seeing further and further into the future. What she saw made her fall in love with Ash, despite the age difference. The sensation of love began to heal her wounds, erase her nightmares when she slept coldly each night. If she focused on that, she did not have to think about the pain she had gone through.

It made sense to her, the man who had beaten her, who had saved her from herself, and gave her a way to attain happiness through humor, which was Haunter. She looked forward to the company of the others that Ash was bringing with him.

She would often talk to Alakazam, he was more collected that Haunter, a well of wisdom. If he talked, her psychic abilities could easily translate his words to match her language, but with her ability to read minds and to project her dialogue into others, she and Alakazam never needed to physically speak to each other, constantly reading each other's mind for conversations.

It had been her mistake to read everyone's mind upon contact; she had grown so accustomed to reading minds. So much so that she actually had to practice physically talking before they got there since they wouldn't be able to read their mind.

Alakazam and Gengar did not mind having their minds read, so she had assumed that the others would not either, another mistake on her part. She still had trouble making new friends, finding it easier to lash out at them. It was an unconscious action on her part, and when she realized what she had done, she knew by then that she could not take back the words she had said, nor would her victim be probably willing to accept her apology.

She could fall back and give the appearance of being superior after she had hurt someone. It allowed her to get away with many things considering others would be frightened of her powers, powers that she never stopped cursing ever since her mother and father had died.

Gengar and Alakazam would patrol the city for when Ash and co would come since she didn't know the exact day. She had gathered enough food from the entire city to last her for several years. Sometimes, she would send out the astral projection of herself in the form a little girl to help them patrol.

It was something to do; it got her outside of the gym without actually having to leave. In a way, it kept her Pokemon and herself company. She insisted on staying in the house so that in case the patrols missed Ash, she knew for certain that Ash would come to the gym. She did everything psychically, never having to worry about gaining weight since the constant use of her psychic abilities used up a lot of energy. The stockpiled glucose in her body was the main source of energy in her brain, and with psychic abilities to top it off; she needed a lot of glucose.

She became depressed often; she no longer wanted to view into the future. Not because she had seen all of it, but what she saw ahead was also depressing. Her abilities did not allow her to view into the past. She could easily relive movements in her life that she spent with her parents, but even then she knew in the back of her mind that she would be living a lie.

When it became too painful for her, she decided to use Amnesia. It made her forget something temporarily to strengthen her defense temporarily, but there was another way she could use it. She could forget something permanently and strengthen her special defense permanently as a result.

She forgot a majority of the things that pained her to the point where she knew that something pained her, but she did not know what it was. Sabrina was tempted to forgetting everything about her previous life to escape the pain, but felt that she needed to hold onto something. She knew where her parents were buried, if she came close to their burial sight, all her memories would return, but her special defense would decrease as a result.

It had come to the point where she was no longer saddened by what happened, knowing full well what had conspired. The very thing she would hold onto would be the thought of Ash; she would belong to him and him alone. If he needed her to die for him than she would, there was no hesitation for her on the account of taking a bullet for him if needed. She would do anything he needed her to do.

There was suddenly a knock on the door, part of Sabrina was surprised, the other side of her wasn't, knowing that it was Misty. Sabrina lifted herself up psychically, turning around and opening the door.

Misty stood meekly beyond the doorway, shrouded in darkness, the only light coming from Sabrina's simple room consisting of a bed and a lamp that illuminated the plain colored sheets, the closet for all her clothing and accessories, the nightstand it was on, and the bland walls of the room.

"I'm sorry for coming here so late," Misty mumbled

Sabrina was surprised at why Misty, after she had been repeatedly teased and insulted, was being so formal and polite in front of her.

"No, no it's fine. I wasn't sleeping. I'm honestly happy that there are people here now," Sabrina admitted, being completely honest.

Misty could tell that the comment was genuine and from the heart, despite all the hurt her words had caused, Misty knew that Sabrina was good deep down inside.

"What is it that you wanted?" Sabrina asked.

"I…actually…I wanted to know…what will I be to Ash?" Misty hastily said.

Sabrina closed her eyes, and shook her head, "I'm sorry Misty. I can't tell you that."

"What! Why the hell not?" Misty snapped back, forgetting that standing in front of her was a woman capable to killing her with a blink.

"I was told not to" Sabrina replied shortly.

"By who" Misty yelled angrily.

"By you, in the future. You and Ash made me swear never to reveal anything of the future to you that might change what happens in the future. They wanted things to go the way they did because it was natural. What happens from her on is up to us; I won't be interfering with what happens so it might change our future entirely. I hope you understand. Had the situation been different, I would've gladly told you, but I can't. You and Ash made me take an oath, a vow that I never intend to break. I promised" Sabrina explained.

Misty calmed down considerably at the news, backing away before looking at Sabrina again.

"You're still going to go after Ash?" Misty inquired.

"It doesn't seem to be anything that would affect the future. If it did, then the future would've changed the second I fell in love with him" Sabrina pointed out.

"Oh, I see" Misty replied, walking back to her room in defeat. Sabrina was just about to close the door when Misty called out to her again from the distance in the darkness.

"Sabrina, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"Why did you fall in love with Ash?"

Sabrina paused for a moment before answering back.

"I fell in love with him because he was the first person to beat me in a battle"

"Wait! You mean from when he gave you Haunter and you gave him the gym badge?" Misty cried out incredulously, finding it hard to believe that she had fallen in love with a ten year old in a battle that technically didn't count as a gym battle.

"No, I don't mean the Pokemon battle I had with him. In the future, we fought each other, one on one with no Pokemon, and he beat me, with sheer skill, strength, and intelligence" Sabrina concluded and closed the door, leaving Misty to stand in the darkness of the hallway, completely amazed at what she was just told.

* * *

**Next, Chapter 2: Run Amuck**


	2. Run Amuck

**September 11

* * *

**

Tracy wiped his glistening brow, the sun burned fervently above them as they traveled the rocky terrain. Ash recalled traveling through this area before, being chased by his old Primeape due to the incident with his hat. Everyone stared at a colossal boulder that blocked their path.

Sabrina stood before them, aiming her hand at the boulder and lifting it with her psychic powers. It hovered above the ground, floating over to her gently before briefly touching the tips of her fingers. Everyone reeled back when the boulder that was about the height of Brock's Steelix, disappeared. The moment of silence was short lived when Ash walked over to Sabrina.

"What did you just do?" He asked.

"Oh, I just teleported it back to Saffron city, more specifically the battle chamber of my gym."

"You can teleport!" Tracy cried out.

"Yes?" Sabrina replied; sounding almost surprised that they didn't already know that about her. "It used to be easier to teleport people, but the loss of my dampeners seemed to have changed my powers a little in that aspect."

"If you can teleport, then why do you have to bother with walking, can't you just go instantly into the next city, or at least send us there?" Jessie suggested.

"I can only teleport to places I've seen and memorized well enough. On top of that, if I happened to teleport anything and the spot where it rematerialized had something there already, the object that I just teleported would fuse into the object already there. Could you try to imagine what would happen if I teleported you too close to the ground and fused your feet to the floor, or if someone just happened to walk past the area where you rematerialized and you fused into them? Not a pretty site" Sabrina explained.

"Can't you just see into the future and look where you'll end up before you teleport?" Brock inquired.

"I doesn't work that way," Sabrina corrected, "I can only see things that my future self wants me to see. Somehow, in the future, I will be able to selectively choose what I want myself to see in the past. I think what I'm technically doing is reading my own mind in the future, but I only get to read a specific thing from my mind, rather than all of your memories like you guys" Sabrina elaborated.

"Sabrina, since you've seen into the future, mind telling us a few things" Ash asked eagerly.

"Sorry Ash. I can't do that. I was told by your future selves not to reveal anything about the future" Sabrina apologized.

"Why?" Ash moaned.

Sabrina smiled and winked at him, "Sorry, that's classified."

* * *

Misty looked at Ash's distress, watching him futilely beg and prod Sabrina for clues or hints to the future. She would've told him to give up since she herself tried, but withheld the advice, feeling that it would lead back to what she had wanted to know from Sabrina.

Although Sabrina hadn't specifically told her not to say anything, Misty felt that the fact that Ash would one day defeat Sabrina in combat was better left unsaid. Misty understood where the fear of telling people knowledge of the future came from. If Misty did tell Ash what Sabrina told her, it would influence Ash in such a way that might make him deviate from decisions he would otherwise have made had he not known and change the future entirely, possibly for the worst.

She cast a side glance at Dawn when she wasn't looking, still surprised to see that someone else was attracted to Ash. Sure, after being so long with him, Ash had grown on her. He was brave, not fearless, but full of courage. The constant walking made him thin, and he had some muscle, enough to help him climb a mountain when they were at the Orange Islands.

He was smart when he needed to be; she had watched him grow from an idiot novice, to a weathered trainer, able to think on his feet and adapt to any situation. He had many faults, what person didn't, but one of his biggest ones was his obliviousness to the people who were attracted to him.

That part of him hadn't changed, maybe in that aspect he hadn't matured. There was one thing that worried her about Ash, his plan she had overheard to seek revenge on the Pokemon that killed his mother and destroyed his hometown. Like Tracy, he had changed in such a way that wasn't to be unexpected from all that was happening, but shocking nonetheless.

Misty considered herself to be naïve to think that her friends would stay the same forever like she imagined them to be, but then again, was that so wrong?

Dawn was quick to avoid having her eyes meet with Misty, thinking back on their conversation back at the Saffron gym. They had woken up early to help prepare breakfast for the others. Dawn had set the timer on the Pokeglov to wake her up, but her internal clock managed to strip her of her slumber just before it rang.

She proceeded into the kitchen, finding Brock and Misty already there and preparing something. Brock had left to go use the Pokeglov to drop a call to his mother, something he had been doing for the past several days after he had left Pewter city, leaving Misty and Dawn alone. There was an uncomfortable air between them; they had been so preoccupied with work that they hadn't thought back on what had happened the night before they went to sleep. Now that they were no longer busy, they had time to think, that moment they had with Sabrina suddenly coming to mind.

"So…you like Ash?" Misty asked, working up the nerve to ask Dawn.

"I think…I think what Sabrina said might've been right. I kind of have a crush on him" Dawn admitted, turning as red as the Tamato berries they were cutting.

"Well, everyone's gotta start somewhere, right?" Misty said encouragingly.

"But, Ash is yours, I have no right to-"

"Ash doesn't belong to anyone. In the end, it's going to be his decision on who he goes out with. Whether you like him or not is not what's important, it's about him. Sure, you're gonna be extra competition to win his heart over, but that's what makes winning all the more worth it. I'm used to having to compete with my sisters for things, this'll be the first time I've fought for love.

"I'm used to trying to live up to my mother's reputation. She was a really good Pokemon Coordinator and I always feel like I'm being compared to her, even though people may not say it or even know I'm her daughter" Dawn confessed.

"Now we have a bigger rival to deal with," Misty reminded.

"Someone who's better built than the both of us, and can read Ash's mind, knowing exactly what he wants" Dawn grumbled hopelessly.

"But we've got something that she doesn't. We've spent more time with him than she has, at least in the past. She may have spent more time with him in the future, but that doesn't matter if she can't use the time she has now to make the base for what's to be the future. Not to mention that Ash has to get to know her better, unlike her where she can get to know him almost instantly. He's gotten to know us pretty well after all the time that we've been with him" Misty pointed out.

"I think you're right. We totally have a chance. Just because she's got a bigger bust, is older than us, and has some abilities doesn't mean that we can't fight back" Dawn cried out, holding out her hand to Misty. Misty took her hand and shook it, both of them casting smugs at each other, the fires of rivalry now sparked.

"Ah, to be young and in love" Brock sighed teasingly.

Both girls jumped and began to blush, releasing each other's hand and staring towards the ground at the thought that Brock had heard their conversation and declaration of their love war.

"How much did you hear?" Misty asked meekly.

"Oh nothing" Brock lied, giggling to himself as he meandered into the kitchen, waltzing with some invisible dancer, his pink cooking apron flowing around him. Brock quickly hit the ground when two fists slammed into his skull. Steam rose from the twin bumps on his head.

"That felt pretty good" Dawn declared, rubbing her knuckles that had become a bit sore, seeing as she had never used her hands to be violent.

"Now you're speaking my language" Misty smiled, "and don't worry about the soreness, that'll go away after a while and you'll stop feeling it if we keep this up."

Dawn couldn't help but unconsciously smile, staring at Ash's back while he walked ahead of the others.

* * *

Samurai walked in silence, trying to ignore the fact that he was practically being cooked inside his own armor. Ash had suggested earlier that he take off his armor, which was out of the question. There were no clouds in the sky so that any of their water Pokemon could use Rain Dance, but if the situation really became drastic, they could easily ask their Pokemon to use Water Sport. Everyone felt it was better to have their Pokemon at full strength and to use the Water Sport as a last resort.

Samurai continued to stare at Sabrina, thinking back on the message that Surge had conveyed from her to him the second that he woke up. It was not a pleasant awakening; bruises painted his body a different color until Misty's Chansey healed him.

He felt odd around her, he resented her and wanted to keep his distance, but at the same time he felt attracted to her. Not sexually, but attracted at the fact that she held the answers to his changes. If he could find out what was going on with him, then if it turned out to be something that would be detrimental to his health, he would simply have Tracy try and cure him of it. Then again, if Chansey's healing abilities hadn't ridden him of it, then what could?

* * *

Sandslash grumbled as he walked next to his master, AJ decided to walk over to Sabrina once more.

"Hey, Sabrina. Can Sandslash go inta the dirt again?" AJ asked politely for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

Sabrina thought about it for a moment and nodded, AJ gave thumbs up to Sandslash who proceeded to gladly dive into the dirt. Sandslash took the opportunity to do recon; the slightest tremor below or above ground would reach his whiskers and alert him of anything coming their way.

Sabrina had forbidden Sandslash to dig within Saffron city, afraid that he would find the bodies that she had buried. She hadn't told the group what had happened to the people of Saffron; afraid of what they would think of her if Sandslash found the bodies that were deep underground.

Sandslash sudden sensed a presence above ground, moving in the group's direction. The movements were not heavy, nor were they very fast, Sandslash wondered whether or not to attack whatever was heading their way. Then again, it was only one Pokemon; Sandslash felt that with their army of Pokemon, and the scary human woman that that his master called Sabrina was with them.

He decided to go back and alert the others, easily making it back to them with a minute before whatever advanced towards them could make it there. Sandslash popped out of the ground in front of the others, taking an offensive stance. Sabrina quickly announced what Sandslash had discovered, much to Sandslash's annoyance at having his mind read so easily.

Ash and the others prepared to summon their Pokemon, remembering which finger summoned what. What they saw surprised them, Sabrina had neglected to say it was only one Pokemon. That, and the fact that it wasn't very big, and seemed to be wounded.

It shuffled towards them, or to be more precise, it used its every ounce of strength to get away from wherever it was coming from. The figure stopped and looked at them for a few seconds before collapsing and falling onto the floor. No one made a move, but was curious as ever to find out what had just happened.

Even so, no one dared to let their curiosity get the better of them just in case the Pokemon before them was faking death to get the upper hand when they approached it with their guard down.

"He's not dangerous" Sabrina announced, heading over to the Pokemon while everyone stood back.

It was hard to fight with someone like Sabrina; someone that could see into the future and read peoples minds. So when Sabrina said that the Pokemon was not dangerous, who could argue with her? Just to be sure, Tracy used his Pokeglov to scan the fallen Pokemon, seeing that the readings correlated with Sabrina's announcement.

"She's right, this Pokemon's dying. It's been poisoned" Tracy explained, walking over to the Pokemon, now with confidence as he was near Sabrina. When they got closer Sabrina gasped, something that Tracy thought was impossible for someone who had the power to constantly be in the know.

"Ash, Misty, get over here quickly!" Sabrina yelled.

Misty and Ash ran forward without hesitation, as they drew closer, Ash recognized the Pokemon on the ground. It was a Primeape; his body seemed to be covered in bruises. Once they got closer, they realized that was not the case. The Primeape's hair was falling out, bleached white. The exposed sections of skin had turned a sickly green and purple, the colors spreading from the veins.

It quickly clicked into Ash's mind what was going on, but part of him could not believe it.

"Misty! Heal him quickly! Please!" Ash shouted.

Misty ignored the pain of Ash practically yelling in her ear, pointing her pinky to the side of the Primeape. With a flash, her Chansey appeared, knowing that the only reason that she would be summoned, was to heal someone. She quickly used Soft Boiled on the Primeape, but after a few seconds, nothing happened.

"We're losing him" Tracy inserted as Chansey continued to use her attack, but nothing seemed to work.

"Hold on" Sabrina said, waving everyone away to give herself space. She placed her hand near the Primeape's body and closed her eyes. Purple steam seemed to gush from every pore in the Primeape's body. The gas collected into an orb of gas the flowed in place above the Primeape's body.

"I'm getting readings from the Pokeglov that this thing has traces of methane and chlorine in it" Tracy said as he read from the screen on his Pokeglov.

"Ash, summon something that uses fire and burn this gas," Sabrina ordered, levitating the ball of gas higher into the air.

"Monferno, use Flamethrower on that ball of gas in the sky" Ash commanded as he spoke into his Pokeglov. The monkey Pokemon complied quickly, sending a torrent of fire at the orb of poison. A small explosion came from the uniting of the fire and the gas, their contact igniting a chemical change that caused for a volatile result.

The Primeape blurred into motion, wrapping his arms around Ash who was now screaming. Samurai was unsheathing his blade, only to have his sword psychically sheathed back by Sabrina.

Ash ignored the pain of being crushed by the burly arms of his old Primeape, unaware of his own strength when hugging Ash and nuzzling into him. Pikachu smiled at the sight of a brief, but old friend.

"No way! Is it really Ash's old Primeape" Misty asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I read his mind when we got closer and saw that he had memories of Ash catching him and giving him to Anthony" Sabrina enlightened. Primeape set Ash down, his eyes landing on Sabrina who was currently talking to him inside his own head. The mental exchange of words lasted no more than a few seconds, which is how long it took Sabrina to frown.

"What's wrong Sabrina?" Brock asked.

"What I just saw in Primeape's mind worries me and is pretty depressing" Sabrina sighed.

"What happened?" Ash asked.

"When the dampeners were taken off, the fighting Pokemon that were part of the fighting ring suddenly started attacking randomly. Some killed their own trainers, others killed the trainers of other Pokemon, and some managed to kill the Pokemon around them. When the Pokemon came to, seeing the deaths of their masters, they went on a rampage. Some Pokemon snapped out of it only while in the midst of fighting each other and while killing someone else's trainer.

The fights lasted for weeks, no one slept, stopped to eat or drink. In the end, your Primeape won and left to explore Celadon City. The city was overrun with Muk and Grimer. With every exhale they let out Poison Gas, everywhere they slid, they left an acidic trail that slowly ate through the concrete or whatever it touched.

People started to attack them and the Muk retaliated, killing everyone they saw. Each day the territory of the Muk expanded to the point where it has now enveloped four cities, Celadon City to Fuchsia City. Everyone is dead, including Gym leaders Erika and Koga. The very air of that place is poisonous and can slip the toxin into your bloodstream through your pores since literally hundreds of Muks have been breathing out poison.

It would be very difficult to go around, since the rate of expansion rivals that of the Beedrill that most of you survived through. Only, this time it will be harder, seeing as the poisonous air will reach us before the Muk do. Given a few months, if this is left unchecked, the Muk's territory could cover the entire continent of Kanto. If the Muk reach the sea…" Sabrina actually shuddered.

Everyone's jaw dropped, with so much revelations being piled on top of them, it was hard for them to comprehend it all. Surge's idea of gathering all the gym leaders together was suddenly dashed now that two of them were dead.

Ash felt that the responsibility of the entire continent had been thrusted onto their shoulders. They were only eleven people against hundreds of Muks; no one else was going to help them.

Samurai knew that the odds were against them, this would be possibly just as hard as when they were running away from the giant Dragonite, if he had called it a fight then he would've been lying.

"Our only option is to wipe out all the Muk. If we don't now, then we'll have to later, and it'll only get harder then" Sabrina suggested.

Brock reluctantly nodded while thinking about how his family would be affected by this if they sat and did nothing, "She's right guys. We need to do something about this, if we don't then it'll just get us anyway."

"Can't we just use fire attacks to blow up the entire city, everyone in there is already dead and we could just wipe out Muks" Jessie suggested.

"I know how that could seem like an easy option, although a bit crude. But there are many problems with that plan. Essentially all the air in the towns between Celadon and Fuchsia has been replaced with the toxic and combustible gas. If we were to ignite it, the explosion would kill us if the toxins in the air didn't do that already. Plus, fire requires air, so the second that one of our fire Pokemon tries to create a flame; the toxins would kill them before they could bring the embers up their throat" Sabrina refuted.

"We can't fly over it or blow it away, so what can we do?" Tracy asked.

"Like you guys did with the Beedrill, we will have to go through it" Sabrina said.

The others looked at her dubiously, wondering if she had become insane.

"Don't look at me that way. I wouldn't suggest this if I hadn't made a plan for this already. Just like I extracted the poison out of Primeape's body, I can repel the poison in the air and let in the air, it's like a psychic filter" Sabrina clarified.

"Couldn't we just go underground? Sandslash wouldn't have any trouble make a tunnel big enough for us to go through" AJ recommended.

"Wouldn't work. The acidic slime that the Muk leave has probably made its way through the soil and will it continue to go down. Your Sandslash would end up having his claws melt off just by trying to dig through the soil. No matter how far you dig, the acidity of the soil will only spread at us eventually. You'll have to take the amount of air that reaches us in the tunnel into account, not to mention the distance you would have to traverse, the density of the earth if you were to actually-"

"All right, all right I get it genius boy. Damn, why ya gotta be such a negative Nancy about it" AJ grumbled.

Tracy scowled but looked over at Sabrina, she was staring off into the distance.

Everyone had hung on her every word, now that she was silent and staring off, all attention was on her.

"Sabrina? What's wrong?" Misty asked.

"I don't know if the explosion brought us some unwanted attention or that Ash's Primeape was followed, but something's here," Sabrina mumbled.

Everyone prepared for battle, Primeape situating himself next to Pikachu who was in front of Ash. Tracy had Scizor, Surge had Raichu, Dawn had Prinplup, Misty had Politoad, Brock had Steelix, James had Carnivine, and Jessie had her Seviper.

The smell reached them before they could see the Muk; it was more pungent than usual, more potent than Ash's Muk. A single Muk approached them, leaving trails of purple gunk that bubbled and sizzled on the ground; the trails seemed to extend for miles. Politoad and Prinplup fired Water Guns, the threads of water pierced through the Muk's head, but the Pokemon continued to move forward.

Carnivine fired a barrage of Bullet Seeds, the organic pellets passed through the Muk's body, the seeds melted in mid-air after passing through the Muk. The Muk seem unfazed by the attack, moving relentlessly towards them. Steelix and Scizor had wanted to use their physical moves against the Muks, but Brock and Tracy held them back. Although steel types were unaffected by poison types, the rules might've changed when the dampeners were removed.

Steelix slammed his tail into the ground; four boulders shot out of the ground and encased the Muk in a prison of stone. Steam began to rise from the boulders, everyone watched as the rocks dissolved, the Muk pouring out of his earthy cell. It was then that Steelix and Scizor knew, that their old immunity to poison had now expired.

Sabrina lifted her hand and aimed it at the Muk, easily lifting it off the ground. The Muk seemed surprised at the sudden turn of events, Sabrina's eyes turned crimson as she closed her open palm into a fist. The Muk's body began to shrink into itself until it converged into a single tiny ball.

Sabrina's grip on the air was released; the condensed droplet of Muk plopped onto the ground. Her smile was quickly replaced with an expression of shock when the bubbling droplet grew gelatinously back into the Muk's original size. Sabrina thrust her hand in the direction of the Muk's head, its face exploding instantly.

The gunk that was the Muk's head landed several meters behind the Muk's body that continued to trudge over to them, a new head reforming in the absence of the other. Sabrina could feel everyone's eyes boring into her, it was a rare sensation. They had expected too much of her, she had been the one that they had considered all powerful, and right now, her powers were useless.

"What the hell is going on?" AJ yelled at Sabrina, throwing caution and politeness to the wind.

"I…I can't find his heart, his brain, or any of his vital organs. It's like their in every single one of his cells. I'd have to kill every single one of them to truly kill it. I can read its mind still, but I can't kill it" Sabrina said, still trying to convince herself of what she was saying.

"Okay, Sandslash. Use Fis-"

"That won't work. They can eat their way through the dirt and come back up above ground" Sabrina interrupted.

"Then what the hell can we do?" James asked hurriedly, swearing under his breath.

Sabrina lifted the Muk once more and threw it as far as she could, it landed with a splat, but reformed quickly and moved faster than before, the poisonous lubricant trail it left helped it move faster as long as it stayed on the trail. The Muk opened its mouth, launching a wave of opaque purple gas.

"Staraptor, use Whirlwind" Ash yelled into his Pokeglov, summoning a blast of light that outlined itself into Ash's newly evolved Staraptor. With several flaps of its wings, the poison gas that headed towards them was blown back at the Muk. The Muk charged past the wall of poison, opening its mouth wide.

The wretched gurgle could be heard across the field, the gunk in its mouth bubbled and swirled. A giant globule of poison was spat from the Muk's mouth and closing the distance between them with surprising speed. Sabrina was so absorbed in the shock at her powers being useless at the moment that she didn't notice the Sludge bomb.

Everyone began to scurry off in different directions, Sabrina stood rooted to the same spot. The poisonous slime landed inside the general area that they had been standing around; the collision burst the bubble of muck and sprayed it in every direction. Everyone turned in horror to see the rain of poison descending upon them, there was no way for them to escape.

Just before they were pelted with poison, the drops froze in mid air, Sabrina's hands both outstretched to each of her sides. Every ounce of poison was pulled back into a single floating orb and thrown back at the Muk. Sabrina had put enough force in the poison blob to push the Muk back, but was surprised once more when the slime that she shot back melded right into the Muk again, the momentum of the hit did not slow it down.

Ash rolled along the ground as he had tried to jump out of the Sludge Bomb's range. He flattened himself against the ground, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash screamed. Pikachu had been waiting for Ash's command to attack, firing a lance of lighting at the Muk.

The effect was instantaneous; the bolt that rivaled the temperature of the surface of the sun ignited the Muk. A wet and fiery explosion came, chunks of burning Muk splattered in every direction. Waves of relief washed over everyone in the group, confidence began to fill them again.

Other than fire, they could use lightning to kill the Muk, and with them was one of the most powerful Pokemon on their team that just happened to use electric attacks. Sabrina quickly lifted the patch of earth where the Sludge Bomb landed and threw it into the fiery remains of the Muk. She cleared the air of the poison that wafted through the area, exposed to the poison for only a few seconds. The others began running over to her happily.

Sabrina was not smiling, the joy quickly being stolen from everyone by just looking at her.

"Sabrina, what's wrong? We just won. We-" Brock began.

"That was not a victory. Lightning still sets the Muks on fire, which will ignite the combustible air in the city and still blow us up" Sabrina sighed.

"What if we just have Pikachu fire a lightning bolt at the city from far away?" James suggested.

"Wouldn't work. I've measured the distance from here to Celadon, and if Pikachu were to attack from here, the explosion would still reach us. If we went further away, I doubt that Pikachu's bolt could even make it" Tracy said as he stared at his Pokeglov and showed the 3D model to everyone.

"Areas that have been touched by the Muk will not return to normalcy after three years. So we can't do anything about what's been done now to the city, but we can at least stop it from spreading" Ash said, reading the description of Muk in his Pokeglov's database.

"What about Ash's Muk, can't we have it be our ambassador or something and talk to the other Muk for us, kind of what Ash's Kingler did with the other Kingler…before AJ killed them all that is" Dawn recommended.

"That won't work either. When we were fighting, I was at least able to read the Muk's mind. The Muks resent humans for ruining their natural habitats and making them smaller. These Muks are determined to expand their territory as much as they can; they care nothing about how this will affect the ecosystem or other Pokemon. Muks have never had very large territories or had them for very long. The idea of having endless fields for themselves to roam freely is a paradise, a dream. Muks have never been able to dream up such a thing because it was ludicrous. Now that they have the chance to, they are not going to let anyone stop them" Sabrina replied.

"AHHHH! This is bullshit! Why is it like the whole goddamned world's against us? Every suggestion we have is just another kick to the teeth; I know ya don't mean ta be so negative, but this is so frustrating. Barely anything works against those things, and we're about to go into a place where there's an army of them. They're poisonous, the air's poisonous, I bet even the damn ground is poisonous too and'll kill us the second we step on it!" AJ yelled.

For once, everyone agreed with AJ. The odds were against them, it seemed as if there were no hope for them.

For anyone.

For humanity.

"We've got to try" James insisted.

"If we don't, then no one will. We have the power to do something; we have a responsibility to do something. We didn't ask for this, but we're going to have to deal with it since we are the first and only people to get here. We've survived through so much; this might be one of the hardest things we've ever had to face. With all these Pokemon, with all these people here with different skills and abilities, there's gotta be a way for us to win" Jessie declared.

Everyone stopped and stared at the people who were the stupid, but once somewhat devious criminals out to cause trouble. James, Jessie, and Meowth had been reserved ever since they joined the group, watching but never talking or putting much input. Now they had spoken, not only that, but spoken when it counted. No one would've ever guessed that something so inspiring could've come from the former rockets.

Surge nodded, "They're right. We've got to do something, otherwise, everythin that you've all worked for will be for nothing, and doomed if we don't do anything."

"I…have a plan, remember?" Sabrina mumbled, hooking everyone's attention and reeling it back to her.

Usually, Tracy was the one that came up with the plans. Sabrina didn't feel like explaining, transferring her thoughts into everyone's heads. Everyone was shocked about the plan; it was risky, extremely risky.

"This…this might work" Tracy commented, revising the plan over and over again, not minding that Sabrina had stolen his thunder with regards to plan making. As long as it got through alive, they had to take a chance; otherwise, they were only prolonging their deaths.

* * *

They followed the trail of poison that the Muk had left behind when it was chasing Primeape. Sabrina stood in front, moving the poison away from their path and around them. Ash's Pokeglov was already full so he had to let Primeape go into Brock's pokeglov. Over the next several miles, Sabrina and Tracy went over their plan in great detail.

Tracy explained that unlike certain Pokemon, Muks had lost their sense of smell entirely, probably due to evolution so that it could withstand its own smell. To compensate, Muks reacted to movement and relied heavily on sight and touch to catch their food, which consisted of garbage. They also lacked the ability to hear, but could feel vibrations against the ground since their entire body was touching the ground.

Sabrina reminded them that while she would be concentrating on filtering all the poison around them, she would be unable to help them too much against the Muks, not that her powers would be of much help against them. For the time being, the key to their success would be stealth.

Mr. Mime, Mime Jr., Alakazam, and Noctowl would also be helping her repel the poison. This meant that she would also be able to aid them somewhat by sharing the load with the other Pokemon. To be stealthy enough, they would have to have no Pokemon out. This would help to not consume their air supply so quickly, and it would make their group somewhat smaller and easier to creep.

Brock summoned his Crobat, commanding it to use Haze. Noctowl gently blew the haze in the direction of the city also psychically moving it with the assistance of the others. Tracy had the entire city mapped out in his Pokeglov, finding the tallest building in the city.

Everyone crept quietly through the mist, hearts beating rapidly, wondering whether every second would be their last. The Muks seemed unsuspicious about the sudden mist that flooded the city. Everyone could see the formless blobs move in the distance.

Poison that hung in the air had turned the city into an eternal night, clouds of poison made the sky a dark purple and hid the sun from them. The entire city was dank and dark, the perfect habitat for Muks.

AJ had been right about the ground, Sabrina did her best to psychically move the poison away from them on the floor, otherwise it would eat through all their shoes and poison them once it reached their feet. The only Pokemon out were the four psychic Pokemon, Pikachu, Raichu, Meowth, and Ash's Muk.

Although Muk was incapable of dissuading his brethren to not kill the humans, he made a great cover for them when Muks began to look in their direction and see another Muk there. Sweat alone drenched everyone's outfits as they tiptoed through the misty city. They knew that the Muks could not hear them, but that was not enough to calm them in the slightest.

Ash's Muk would often casually use his large body to shield the others from the other Muk's sight. The Muks were too busy to notice Ash and the others, eating the garbage that littered the city and the rotting carcasses of their victims. Luckily for everyone, Sabrina had managed to also keep the stench at bay as well.

Although the Muks paid no mind to the fact that they were essentially blind, it was still difficult for the others to see through the haze. Sometimes, the others would resort to holding the other's hand. Eventually, Sabrina began to read the minds of the surrounding Muks and built a map of the city from their collective memories, implanting the thoughts into everyon's mind. In only a matter of seconds, it was as if everyone knew the city like the back of their hands, like they had been living there for years.

Sabrina's work of keeping the poison at bay from earth and sky was not difficult, but did require a certain amount of concentration. She was one of the few that did not need to worry as much. There was no doubt in her mind that she could possibly escape this if she really needed to, but to go back to solitude if her friends died was worse than death.

After an excruciating two hours of silent darting from building to building, they found the building they were looking for. They had amazingly managed to traverse nearly half the distance of the infected area. The building before them towered over the surrounding tall buildings.

The air itself was slowly eating away at its very foundations. Sabrina silently opened the door, everyone quickly ran inside before Sabrina closed it behind them. She wondered whether or not she should even lock it, if the Muks were to make it to the doors, a lock would not stop them from melting through the door.

The others quickly made their way up the stairs, the other psychic Pokemon had learned from Sabrina on how to repel the poison without her help. They had learned just by watching her. After a few flights of stairs, Sabrina decided to take her own way to the top floor. There were an abundant amount of holes through the building, Sabrina levitated herself and flew to the top story of the building. At the very top stood a house.

Four quadrants of once lavish gardens before the mansion were now dead and withered by the poisonous air around them. From the memories she had collected, Ash, Brock, and Misty had been here before. They had accompanied an Officer Jenny to find out why a large group of children were going missing.

It turned out that several wealthy men and women were using a Hypno to psychically relieve tension while they had parties. The side affect of that is that it caused the young children of the area to become hypnotized and believe they were Pokemon and head over into the woods.

The Muk had not neglected this area either; the mansion up top was barely standing. A fountain to the left of her was full of slime; Sabrina recalled that a single drop of Muk could contaminate an entire swimming pool. Sabrina lifted the thick layer of slime that coated the floor, letting it ooze off the sides of the building, eating away at the windows as it slid down.

"You can fly!" James managed to hiss as he was out of breath from going up all those flights of stairs. Ash, Misty and Brock immediately recognized the building; Sabrina had chosen this building for the specific reason that it was very tall.

"Yes, I can fly" Sabrina replied plainly while the psychic Pokemon went straight to work.

Alakazam, Noctowl, Mr. Mime, and Mime Jr. went to the four corners of the buildings and began to encase it in barriers, light screens, and reflects. Sabrina made her way to the center of the garden, sitting down into a meditative stance. She expanded the area of air filtration, going down as far as the base of the building, within the barriers, which helped her know where to draw the line.

It was within several minutes that a skyscraper of glass encircled the building they were in. The top was entirely open to allow more air to come in, not that the Pokemon would've had enough energy to create more barriers. They had exhausted their energy to make barriers by overlapping the sides multiple times. Noctowl had learned how to make barriers as well; Mr. Mime and Mime Jr. had mastered the ability to make barriers from long distances.

They quickly went over to Sabrina sitting around her and meditating as well, helping her increase the flow of oxygen. The group had been traveling inside the same cloud of Haze that Crobat had produced, having it psychically moved along with them, the haze still lingered at the base of the building. Crobat began using Haze repeatedly, blowing it down the rest of the building until it completely masked its presence.

The others summoned nearly all of their Pokemon, more specifically the ones with long-range attacks that wouldn't ignite the Muks. Ash summoned his Ivysaur, Glalie, Swellow, Sceptile, Grotle, Floatzel, Staraptor, Snorlax, Kingler, and Feraligatr. Dawn summoned her Prinplup, Lopunny, and Piloswine while Tracy summoned his Azumarill and Venomoth.

Brock had his Steelix, Sudowoodo, Golem, Ludicolo, and Swampert as Misty released her Corsola, Azumarill, Gyarados, Politoad, and Starmie. Sabrina brought out her Gengar, Jessie chose Yanmega, and James picked Carnivine. The poison that Sabrina had moved off the edge had come a quarter of the way down the building now, leaving the top three levels of the building without windows.

On the those same levels were everyone and their Pokemon. They faced out of all four sides of the building, the only ones still on the top were Sabrina and the psychic Pokemon, as well as the Pokemon that would not be needed, like Pikachu, Meowth, and Raichu. They had been equally divided amongst each level and side so to attack from any direction.

Sabrina had put almost all of her strength in to boosting her own defenses by permanently erasing certain memories and keeping the poison in the air away. She would not participate in the fight; her psychic abilities would be useless against an enemy she couldn't kill. The most she would've been able to do was to push and throw the Muks, which would only last for so long until she ran out of strength and could no longer attack. There were too many for her to handle at once.

She had to dedicate herself to the plan she had concocted; she would have to work as fast as she could. Samurai and Surge watched as a ghostly little girl materialized out of thin air before Sabrina. It was the same little girl that Ash had said he'd seen before they met Sabrina in Saffron City.

She carried a red ball, her skin was ghostly white, so white that it seemed that a pallid glow seemed to radiate from her. Samurai had to shield his eyes from how bright it was. The little ghost girl was only so bright because everything around her was so dark.

"What is that?" Samurai asked.

"It's a psychic astral projection. While I meditate and keep the poison away from here, I can multitask and go out in this form. Consider it a psychic version of the Pokemon move Substitute, although with a few advantages and downsides. This projection can't be hurt, but it can't attack." Sabrina's projection replied in the voice of a little girl.

The plan was simple, for the most part.

Once they found a large enough building and fortified it, Sabrina would send her projection to find cities past the infected area and away from the possible blast radius of the infected area. Meanwhile, the others would hold down the fort while she was searching. Once she found a suitable area that was safe, she would come back and teleport them to that area before they ignited the infected cities, getting out safely and destroying the Muk and their plan for world domination.

Simple, right?

Surge had suggested before that since Ash and his friends had been all over Kanto, why not use their memories to visualize the place and teleport there. Sabrina replied that would get them killed since those places could have changed during all that time and be filled with dangerous Pokemon. If it looked different from what the memories showed, then trying to teleport them there would only get them killed, as they would be trying to teleport to a place that technically did not exist.

"You have to make sure that nothing bothers my body while I do this, otherwise my projection will go back into my body and I'll have to start all over" Sabrina warned.

Samurai, Surge, Meowth, Pikachu, and Raichu nodded in response. They would do everything in their power to protect Sabrina. It would be the least they could do since they could not actually fight.

"Sabrina…" Samurai began.

"Don't worry about it, I forgive you. You too Surge" Sabrina filled in.

"Did you-!" Surge began to say, already starting to fume angrily.

"No, I didn't read your mind. It was a lucky guess," Sabrina answered back.

Surge and Samurai smiled back at her, "Have a safe trip."

"I will, no one will be able to touch me physically since I'm a ghost, I'll be too high for any attacks to reach me, and since I don't have any weight, I'll be moving too fast for anything to catch me. I will be worrying about you the entire way though," Sabrina admitted.

Surge wanted to tell her to not worry because they would be fine, but he doubted that, and he didn't want to lie.

"Sabrina, about that. What are our chances at surviving this?" Surge asked.

Sabrina was silent for a moment, she slowly began to float up and prepare for flight.

"You won't last more than thirty minutes…at max" Sabrina replied solemnly.

Surge flinched at the harshness of the words, part of him wanted to know but still regretted having the facts to bluntly facing him. Their survival would depend entirely on Sabrina finding a suitable, safe place outside of the blast radius to teleport them to, or to be more precise, how quickly she found it.

Surge doubted that there was anything truly safe for them to teleport to, but they had to try, and anything was better than this. He wondered if she doubted whether or not she would succeed or if they would survive.

"Is that a guess as well, or a information from the future?" Samurai inquired.

Sabrina flew off without a word; the meaning behind her silent action spoke volumes, and did not make them feel better about their predicament. Yet, they knew what they had to do, regardless of how the odds were stacked against them, they would not falter.

The Muk instantly recognized her bright ghostly body as they stared into the murky sky and saw the contrast in brightness. Some of the Muk began to try and follow her, throwing attacks at her that didn't even reach; she dodged, or went right through her. The other Muks went in the direction where the ghost came from, noticing the barriers and starting to attack. The word amongst the Muks spread quickly; Muks from every corner of the city came to attack the tower.

* * *

Surge watched as a purple tsunami came towards them, the wave itself was half the size of the skyscraper. Samurai could feel the thousands of eyes that gazed at him from the Tsunami of Muk. Surge opened a flap in his pants, pulling out a steel canteen and taking a long drink.

He handed it in to Samurai, who took a whiff and reeled back at the smell of the whiskey, shaking his head in polite refusal. Surge shrugged his shoulders and downed the rest of the drink, throwing the container over the edge of the building. He smiled crazily at the sight of the Muk tsunami heading towards them from miles away, still looking enormous and swallowing entire buildings, disintegrating them instantly, like a wave of water on a sand castle.

"So it begins. This is gonna be fun" Surge chuckled, licking his lips as Samurai closed his eyes and unsheathed his sword.

* * *

**Next, Chapter 3: ToxiCity**


	3. ToxiCity

AJ tried not to feel daunted by the sight of the poison tsunami, flooding through several streets. He and Sandslash had stationed themselves on the top northern floor, accompanied by Misty. Below him was Ash on the floor below him, and below him was Brock. To AJ's back were Jessie and James with Tracy below them and on the final floor under them stood Dawn. Those that had more than three Pokemon handy split their teams to the left and the right sides of the building.

Sandslash tapped AJ gently on his shirt, AJ looked at him and in the direction he motioned towards. He was pointing at the sludge tsunami, now closing the miles of distance they had between them in seconds. Giant torrents of water were fired from all of Misty's water Pokemon; everyone else was busy trying to keep the Muks that were not part of the giant wave away from reaching the barriers.

Carnivine rained a barrage of Bullet Seeds, peppering the dozens of Muks below them. The seeds sunk into the Muks' aqueous bodies dissolved in seconds, they showed no signs of slowing down. A river of water poured over them from Tracy's Azumarill, accompanied by balls of darkness, courtesy of Sabrina's Gengar using Shadow Ball.

The latter attacks seemed to push the Muks away but failed to kill them. The colossal streams of water were doing nothing to slow down the Muk tsunami. AJ looked back at his Sandslash.

"Do you think you can do it?" AJ asked.

Sandslash nodded without hesitation.

"Alright then, go for it" AJ permitted, watching Sandslash hop down to the second level and over to Ash's Ivysaur. All of Misty's water Pokemon stopped using their water attacks in unison just in time for AJ's Sandslash to go over to Gyarados. AJ watched as Gyarados slipped his tail fin underneath Sandslash's feet, one of Ivysaur's vines wrapped around his ankles.

Gyarados doused Sandslash with a bit of water before launching him through the air with all of his strength. Ivysaur stood his ground so not to be carried away along with Sandslash. Sandslash cut through the barriers that were thicker near the bottom but thinner at the top. As he soared through the air, his heart pounding in his ears, not because he was heading towards a seemingly unstoppable wall of death heading towards him, but because ground Pokemon were not accustomed to flying.

Sandslash held his breath; any intake of air he made outside of Sabrina's psychic field would poison him instantly. The water he had been doused with was to prolong the time it took for the airborne poison from reaching his skin and having to go through the water first.

Ivysaur could feel himself reaching the limits of his vine extension, moving his vine side to side so to dodge the Sludge Bombs that took advantage of the breach in the barriers. Since Ivysaur was part poison type, it had certain defenses against poison, but to the poisoned air, Ivysaur was not immune to. Already the toxins were making their way into the vines and traveling towards him and Sandslash. If they took too long, the poison would make contact with their bodies and kill them.

The poison attacks that made it through never reached the buildings as Misty's Pokemon blasted the attacks out of the air with water. Sandslash reared his claw back and tried to find the soft spot in the dirt. Samurai and Surge felt the ground shake, looking ahead to see that the ground before the Muk tsunami parting. At its epicenter, balanced perfectly on a single claw, was Sandslash.

Sandslash could feel the tip of his claw starting to get eaten away from the acids that coated the floor. He focused all of his energy on expanding the gap in the fissure, the wider he made it, the better the chance they had of stopping the tsunami. Once it was eleven meters apart, he tucked his leg in, pulling on the vine that was fastened to his ankle.

Ivysaur felt the tug on his vine, pulling it back with all of his strength. Within a few seconds, Sandslash landed inside the building, right on his feet, promising himself to never do that again as he fought away the nausea that made him want to go over the edge and puke.

Sandslash went over to Ivysaur, cutting off the very vine he had used to bungie back to the building. Had the vine remained attached to Ivysaur, the poison would've made its way to Ivysaur's body. Ivysaur thanked Sandslash, making his way back to the floor below them to help Ash.

Gyarados doused Sandslash again to wash away the water that was slowly becoming poisoned. With the dampeners gone, water did not hurt Sandslash as much anymore. As Sandslash shook the excess water off his body, he noticed that the claw he had used to attack was now short than his other claw. It was a sacrifice that he had been willing to make.

* * *

Carnivine used Stockpile and then Spit Up, firing an onslaught of golden energy bullets that blasted the Muks. They seemed to be more effective than his Bullet Seeds; he proceeded to repeatedly spam the attack.

Jessie's Yanmega used every ranged attack in its arsenal. The Sonic Booms and Bug Buzzes made the Muk's heads explode, only to reform a few seconds later. The Air slashes severed the Muk's limbs from their bodies and sometimes even their heads, but the Muk pieces fused back together.

Ancient power seemed to be one of the only moves that worked against them, the poisoned ground rising before the Muks and slamming into them and carrying them away for a few meters. Yanmega then began to use Super Sonic, confusing most of the Muks into attacking each other and going in the complete wrong direction from the building they were in, only a small majority was working through their confusion to make their way to the skyscraper.

Steelix and Sudowoodo repeatedly used Rock Tomb, large pillars of stone rose from the ground just behind the ravine that Sandslash had made. The Muk Tsunami did not falter nor decrease its speed. Hundreds of gallons of Muk poured into the giant crevice within the earth. The topmost part of the wave crashed against the giant tombstones, melting through them rapidly.

Glalie fired pale lances of Ice Beam; Sceptile shot a flurry of Bullet Seeds that shattered the frozen Muk, successfully managing to kill it.

"Hey! Guys! If you freeze and Shatter them, they won't come back!" Ash yelled. The news was encouraging but applied to only a few people, Dawn taking full advantage of the information.

"Piloswine, use Blizzard!" Dawn ordered.

Frigid winds froze several Muks in their place; Prinplup fired a burst of water that shattered all of them. After doing this several times, both Prinplup and Piloswine began to glow white, becoming Mamoswine and Empoleon. Brock's Crobat blew his Haze over the Muks, Lopunny used Ice Beam, and anything touching the moisture of the Haze froze.

* * *

Samurai and Surge watched in awe as Muks converged towards them from all directions. So far, the Muks were still roughly a mile away from the buildings, Surge was impressed that the attacks were landing on the Muks from so far away. Yet, no matter how many Muks they managed to kill or push back, many Muks were making their way to the base of the building. There was just too many of them to hold back; attacking one meant two or three could advance further.

Surge wasn't sure why Samurai had even drawn his blade, if they had encountered a Muk, the blade would melt instantly at the slightest touch. That had been why Surge hadn't even bothered to pull out his combat knife. He knew better than to go up close and stab the Muk, which would only get him killed.

There was always the option of throwing his knife at the Muk, but he knew that action wouldn't kill the Muk, only slow it down and make him lose his combat knife, one of the few things that he felt emotionally attached to. He was tempted to ask Samurai about his sword, but held back his question, knowing that Samurai had some sort of reason for doing so.

Surge guessed it was probably some Bushido nonsense of dying on your sword in battle, then again, that was the kind of nonsense that Surge could get behind.

* * *

Ambipom and Gliscor summoned themselves from the Pokeglov, making Dawn and Ash jump at the turn of unexpected events. They both refused to stay inside the Pokeglov and watch a fight when they could easily fight without endangering everyone by igniting the poison.

Before Dawn could return Ambipom, it swung both of its tail arms and fired an onslaught of star with a Swift attack. The stars landed perfectly on target since they could never miss, shredding the Muks that were on the other end of their sharp corners. Dawn remained silent and let Ambipom fire stars at will. The attacks could not hurt the Muk or kill them, but what they did do was slow them down, even if only for a second or two. It all went down to prolonging their deaths long enough to let Sabrina come back and teleport them.

Ash admired Gliscor's initiative to fight, but all of Gliscor's moves consisted of physical close combat attacks. Gliscor could not leave the perimeter of the building, and even if fighting a Muk would spell death for him upon the first touch. Gliscor's only long-range move was ironically Poison Sting, which would do nothing to hurt the Muk.

"_Then again, we really don't have too many moves that actually can hurt them_" thought Ash as he saw Ivysaur use Razor leaf against one of the Muks, only to have some of them wither and die in mid air before they even touched the Muks, or dissolve upon contact with the Muk's slime.

"All right Gliscor, use Poison Sting as many times as you can" Ash ordered, making Gliscor feel happy that he was being useful. Hundreds of needles rained on the Muks, their bodies rippling with the puncture of each needle that dissolved instantly. Meganium also joined the fight, joining Ivysaur and Grotle in firing Razor leafs faster and faster. The faster the leaves moved, the better it was to slow down the Muks. Their leaves were managing to decapitate the Muks before they withered.

Venomoth used Psychic to pick up the Muks and throw them farther away, succeeding in confusing them in the process. Bug Buzz made their heads explode, while Air cutter cut them in two, forcing them to stop and reattach whatever part had been dismembered.

Crobat sent four sets of Air cutters, one from each wing with every flap he made., and on top of that, he used Confuse Ray.

Kingler, if not all the water Pokemon in the group, were barred from using Bubble Beam since the explosion would ignite the poisoned air. But Kingler had been summoned for a different reason, staying close to Snorlax and Gyarados, waiting for their signal.

Mamoswine quickly learned that it now knew Ancient Power, like Jessie's Yanmega, aiding it in pushing back the Muks. Ash's Muk stretched his body in nearly every direction, catching any of the Sludge Bombs with his own body and absorbing the attacks that had actually landed.

The fight had not even lasted five minutes, already the Pokemon were beginning to feel the fatigue. Glalie, Mamoswine, and Lopunny were beginning to lose the strength to make another ice attack. Dawn and Ash decided to conserve what ice attacks that they had left for later as a last resort.

Up until then, the Muk were too far to use any of their attacks, but now that they were half a mile away, the story would be different. All the attacks that had been directed towards pushing back the Muks were now divided in half. The other half of the attacks was now being used to neutralize the Sludge Bombs that were launched at them.

The first salvo was allowed to hit them, or more specifically, the barriers that protected them. Some of the barriers held against the Sludge bombs, slowly fading away as the acids ate through the material, others were destroyed entirely, sometimes stopping the poison move or letting it go through and hit the building.

The attacks that hit the building were quickly washed away, with seemingly endless salvos of poison and the constant advancement of the Muk, any chance of survival seemed more and more slim with every inch that the Muk gained. Swellow and Staraptor flapped their wings at the slightest chance of poison making its way inside the building from when the Sludge Bombs landed. Although all their moves were physical, they were nonetheless very useful in keeping any small trace of poison at bay.

Ash measured the distance between themselves and the Muk, eyeing the buildings that surrounded them. Ash turned towards the others and gave them the signal; Everyone's water Pokemon already in position.

A thin ribbon of water shot out of each water Pokemon's mouth, piercing the buildings around them. The Pokemon worked quickly so that the poison would not spread into their mouths through their own water. The water cut through every layer of the building, the incisions were diagonal, and once each Pokemon had cut through their building completely, they let gravity do the work.

Steel moaned from the strain, the rumble of concrete scraping against each other roared all around them, The top half of the buildings slid off their very foundations, crashing into ground. Small grains of sand shook from the ceiling of the building as the ground quaked in response to the multiple buildings that had fallen and now created a barricade of rubble.

Some of the Muks had the misfortune of being directly under the falling buildings, being buried alive under the rubble, but one could hardly say that those places would be their graves. Already, some of the Muks were making their way back to the surface of the rubble. The other Muks would have a hard time making their way over the skyscraper ruins. The trainers had bought themselves another fifteen to twenty seconds of survival.

There was a sparse amount of Muks that were close to the building now, some of them had made it before the building fell on them, others were just finished unburying themselves. From behind their stony wall of debris, the Muks continued to fire Sludges and Sludge Bombs.

Swampert, Mamoswine, and Golem looked at each other before looking to their trainers, waiting for their nod of approval. Once given, the three Pokemon leapt off the building's edge, plummeting towards the ground. There was nothing to sustain them other than the air, being pulled by the full force of gravity. With a bone breaking crash, the three Pokemon landed at ground zero of the building, transferring all their weight and momentum into energy for their Earthquake attack.

They manipulated the attack to occur from outside the barriers, a moving mound of earth split off into three directions all at once and away from the main building. A large wave of earth approached the Muks, plumes of dirt sprayed and exploded in their face. The landslide carried the Muks that were the closest to the building, pushing them into the fallen buildings and pushing them further, taking the buried Muks with them and slamming into the Muks behind the buildings.

Misty quickly summoned Chansey, having it use Soft-boiled one Swampert, Mamoswine, and Golem who had broken their own legs from the fall and were rendered immobile. Sandslash suddenly dove from the building as well, except he did so from the center, curling up into a ball of spikes and puncturing through each floor. Just before he hit the ground, he uncurled his body and stabbed his good claw into the ground.

Four cracks slithered across the ground, forming an X at the bottom of the building. The four cracks went underneath the barriers and proceeded to travel to the edge of the building barricades they had created. A seven-meter section of earth collapsed from each side of the building. Sandslash had used his last four Fissures to make a moat of earth around them.

Any Muks wishing to get to the tower would have to hop over the ravines, something that Sandslash thought they were incapable of doing. It seemed to rain sludge as endless mortars of Sludge Bombs continued to fly through the air. The bottom sections of the buildings remained unharmed due to the barriers.

Swampert, Mamoswine, Sandslash, and Golem eyed the barriers around them, somewhat nervous as several Sludge Bombs were taking out entire sections of Barriers. They were all heavy and slow; making their way up the stairs to the top floors would take an eternity for them.

They did not have an eternity, nor would the Muks give them one. Trying to do so would only leave them open to a poison attack to the back, and it would be a while before the bottom barriers were destroyed, allowing them to attack, but by then, they would be doomed by the overwhelming Muk.

Brock and Dawn pointed at Swampert, Golem, and Mamoswine, returning them to the Pokeglovs and summoning them once more from the top of the building. Sandslash was the only one left at the bottom, seeing as AJ did not have a Pokeglov. Ash's Ivysaur using one of his vines to grab Sandslash and pull him back up to the top.

Ash watched as a Sludge Bomb headed over to them, half of the barriers that had protected the building were now gone. Floatzel and Feraligatr focused their water attacks on the incoming ball of poison. Another Sludge Bomb was waiting in line to hit the building just when Ash's two water Pokemon finished pushing the first one out of the air. Ash started to make a run for it, as did his Pokemon, just before the attack landed, the Sludge Bomb stopped in mid air.

Mr. Mime stood before Ash, his left arm fully outstretched and glowing lavender. The Sludge Bomb remained levitated for only a few seconds before Mr. Mime used Psychic and threw it back out, meeting with another Sludge Bomb flying towards them and blocking it.

Ash looked up, surprised to see his Mr. Mime actually partaking in battle, seeing as it had been planned to have the psychic Pokemon by Sabrina to help her maintain the airfields. It was then that Ash noticed that Mr. Mime was translucent, realizing that Mr. Mime was using Substitution so that he could help Sabrina at the top, while helping fight from below.

Although, if Mr. Mime were hit by one of the poison attacks, his body would be too weak and disappear; then again, that would be the same for all of his Pokemon. The poison mortars were becoming too numerous to hold back. Sceptile blasted another Sludge bomb out of the air with Bullet seed alone when another three Sludge Bombs came up on him. Sceptile was barely able to move out of the way in time, the Sludge Bombs eating through the floor of the building and leaking down to the floor below it, continuing the process until it reached the bottom.

Only a quarter of the barriers now remained, the Muks were now making their way over the rubble. As for the ravines that stood before them, the Muks quickly found a solution to that as well. One Muk would sacrifice itself and grab onto the other edge of the fissure, using its body as a bridge for the other Muks to move over.

Misty's water Pokemon began to cut the Bridges in half with their water attacks, but too many of the Muks were using it and her water Pokemon were beginning to run out of attacks. Some of the Muks were now directly in front of the base of the building with only a few barriers to stop them.

One of the Muks reared its arm back, the slime that made up most of its body beginning to pool around its hand until it was now the size of its body. The Muk thrust the giant poison sludge hand forward, shattering through all of the barriers at the bottom with its Gunk Shot attack.

Swampert instantly used Muddy Water, the large body of water rushing out of the single doorway that the Muk had just made. The attack had managed to push the Muk back a bit before it did the move again, grabbing onto the stone support beams of the building and pulling itself inside the building.

Everyone felt the building teeter as one of the support beams in the corner of the building was disintegrated. Brock reacted quickly, commanding his Steelix and Sudowoodo to use Rock tomb. One to trap the Muk, the other to block the entrance that the Muk had just made. Both actions were futile as all the other Muks made dozens of openings in seconds and the once trapped Muk was now free.

* * *

Samurai and Surge were beginning to see the Sludge Bombs now reach them at the top of the building. One of the psychic Pokemon would stop the poison attack before it hit and throw it back down from whence it came. Although not one attack landed, it did not make Surge or Samurai any more at ease. Poison attacks were now aimed at them with more frequency, yet no matter how many there were, none of them had managed to land.

Surge had looked over the edge and watched the battle earlier, but decided to fight away his curiosity after seeing how the battle was turning, preferring not to look anymore unless he lose his nerve. Samurai had asked him what he had seen, daring not to go check himself, but Surge didn't have the heart to break it to the boy, feeling that the less he knew, the better was, and the less detrimental it would be for his efficiency during battle.

Samurai was beginning to do half swings at any of the Sludge Bombs that were going to land randomly on the roof of the building. Surge guessed it was a reflex that Samurai had gained, ready to attack anything that moved, not that it would help much in this situation.

Neither of them had carried a watch, knowing nothing about how much time had transpired. From what they felt, years could've gone by as the torturous sensation of waiting while a war waged outside. When their eyes weren't directed at the sky, they were focused on the meditating Sabrina who had yet to return.

They wondered whether she had found anything, why she was taking so long to name a few, all of these thoughts were dashed once they saw another Sludge Bomb ready to land and fail, leaving them to reset their thoughts to the same questions over and over again.

The both of them were frightened to move, this also bothered the both of them immensely. They were not comfortable feeling so powerless and fearful, the poison attacks that never landed felt like they were taunting their acceptance of dying in battle. This, however, was not the way they had envisioned of dying in this new world.

To die from a single poison attack, without even looking at their enemy in the eyes as they died, was something that they would always regret. Surge felt like he shouldn't be surprised about his Pokemon's reactions to all of this. One look at them, and he could see that they were perfectly calm about all of this.

Unlike them, they did not worry about the psychic Pokemon making the slightest mistake and letting a poison attack land. From the four gallons of poison that were hurled at them, a single drop of it could kill them instantly. Despite this, the Pokemon watched indifferently with the exception of Meowth who was experiencing a mixture of both human and Pokemon emotions due to his upbringing.

"I hope she comes back soon" Surge muttered, a single bead of sweat running down the side of his face as he forced a smile.

"I do too" Samurai nodded, suddenly prepared to lash out with his blade at the upcoming globule of poison before stopping himself once more when it was psychically thrown back.

* * *

All the trainers began to retreat to the center of the building; the poison attacks now chipping away at the edges of the building.

"Should we do it now Tracy?" Ash yelled.

"YES! DO IT NOW! Tracy screamed back.

Ash's Sceptile, Meganium, Ivysaur, and Grotle got into position. Grotle still hadn't learned Leaf Storm yet, only able to contribute Razor leaf to the combination attack. Once again, the plant trio unleashed their combination move, this would be their third time using it, and the second time that anyone had seen it.

An entire forest's worth of leaves rushed at the Muks, burying and shredding them under razor sharp leaves. Everyone knew that the attack wouldn't kill the Muks; they could only hope that it would slow them down. There was still no sign of Sabrina's return, and until she did come back, they would have to do all they could to delay as much as they could.

Individually, Razor leaf had done very little damage to the Muks, but the Leaf Hurricane had definitely left its mark. The thousands of green leaves that littered the floor quickly withered and died.

Everyone's water Pokemon used their last drops of water to drown the Muks that inhabited the floors below them in the building. Lopunny, Mamoswine and Glalie only had a few ice moves left as they froze the water that pooled from below, freezing any of the Muks that were touching the water.

More Muks began to enter the bottom floor of the building, seeing their frozen counterparts. The Muks began to take it upon themselves to free their brethren from their frozen shackles. The acids ate through the ice and reawakened the Muks within a few seconds.

Ash and the others began heading up the stairs to the roof, the amount of poison being thrown at them was overwhelming. Mr. Mime stayed behind to give them cover as they retreated. Eventually he too was overwhelmed and buried under poison that made the Substitute fade into nothingness, a good replacement for actual death. Mr. Mime made another Substitute, already heading down the stairs; Mr. Mime's health was now cut in half.

A giant poison hand grabbed onto the hole on the top floor of the building, the one that Sandslash had made. The Muk at the bottom floor had stretched out his hand to the top floor, pulling himself up several flights in a heartbeat. Brock, AJ, and James had made their way to the top floor.

Tracy, Ash, Dawn, Jessie, and Misty had to contend with the Muk that had to go through them to make it to the roof, and to Sabrina. Jessie commanded her Yanmega to use Ancient Power before the Muk could react, but Yanmega was out of that move, in fact, it was out of all of its moves, limited to only use Struggle, which was physical.

Ash's Glalie used its final Ice Beam, freezing the Muk and killing it just as it was attacking. Dozens of hands grabbed onto the ledges of the buildings, several Muks were on the other ends of those arms. Some of the Muks lost their hold on the ledge as their very touch ate through the material. It all came down to how quickly the Muks could get up the building.

Muks were climbing up every side of the building, Ash and the others were busy firing at the edges of the buildings, destroying the ledges that the Muks were holding onto. There were too many for Ash and the others to stop, leaving them now surrounded. How the building was even still standing was a miracle in its self, the exterior edges of the building had now been eaten away entirely.

One of the Muks reared back its arm and thrusted it forward, using Gunk Shot. Tracy's Azumarill pushed Tracy out of the way of the poison arm, the torrent of sludge slamming Azumarill and crushing it between the wall and its acidic palm. Misty watched in horror as Azumarill outline appeared through the hand of sludge, its body writing and screaming, but muffled by the gunk. The poison invaded its body, rapidly peeling away at the layers of flesh, muscle, and bone.

Three of the Muks lunged at Dawn, Ambipom sliding before her and running at them. Dawn screamed as Ambipom tackled the Muk in the center, grabbing the other two with its two tails that doubled as hands, and running off the building with them. Ambipom managed to look back at Dawn one last time, ignoring the searing pain that was already melting half of its face off. Dawn watched Ambipom smile and wink, tears of pain streaming from his eyes while poison invaded his pores.

Gliscor flew at the Muk that ran charged towards Ash, slamming into its body and pushing it off the edge of the building. Ash cried out, his hand reaching for the place where Gliscor had once been. He ran towards the edge, everyone suddenly thinking that Ash had gone crazy and was planning to jump after his doomed Gliscor.

Ash had no such plans, stopping just before the eroding edge of the building and looking down. The Muk that had fallen was now splattered against the pavement; a vague outline of his Gliscor was now imprinted on the Muk for a few seconds. The surrounding Muks piled on top of the splattered Muk who was reforming once more.

Neither of the Pokemon that had sacrificed themselves for their trainers regretted their decision. Their trainers had found them, made them stronger, gave them purpose, shared happy and bad times together, and cared for them. It was their way of giving back the life that their trainers had given to them upon capture. No one had thought that they would've been able to help ward of the Muks in this fight due to their restriction of physical attacks. The fact that their trainers would be able to go on an survive, was enough to make them happy and accept their fate.

Tears fell from Ash's eyes, landing on the congregating Muks that looked as if to devour their comrade. Their attentions were back to Ash, firing a dozen Sludge Bombs directly at him. Ash tried to move his legs, but they seemed frozen in place. He could hear the others run after him and call out his name.

He had no intention of dying, he wanted to kill the Muks more than anything now, but for the moment, his body refused to move. The Sludge Bombs stopped inches short from Ash's face, a purple wavering wall between him and death. Ash suddenly regained control of his body, turning to see another Mr. Mime substitute using psychic to stop the attacks.

Mr. Mime flung his hand down and sent the poison attacks back where they came from. At that moment, the ground Ash was standing on eroded to the point where is dissolved beneath Ash's feet. Mr. Mime reacted quickly, reaching out to Ash and using Psychic to stop his fall, lifting him up to him and grabbing his master's hand.

Ash could see the determination in Mr. Mime's eyes, focused solely on not letting his master's son die. It occurred to him how much Mr. Mime meant to him and vice versa. Now that his mother was dead, he had now inherited ownership of Mr. Mime. Had it not been for his mother's Pokemon, they would not have survived their last few battles, including this one.

The fight against the Fearow, the battle against the Zubats and Golbats. Ash had a lot to thank Mr. Mime for, until then he had never truly appreciated Mr. Mime's input to the team.

Mr. Mime pulled Ash up the rest of the way, both of them leaving the edge of the building that was already starting to crumble. The Muks below were temporarily blinded by their own attacks hitting them. Misty and the others had only gone half the distance towards Ash when Mr. Mime came down through the roof and stopped the attack.

Muks were now arriving from the stairways to the rooms below, Misty's Azumarill trying to hold them off. Mr. Mime pushed the remaining Muks off the building as Ash and the others made their way up the stairs, over to the roof. Multiple Gunk Shots flew into the room from the rooms below.

One of them grabbed Misty's Azumarill, dragging it down to the recesses of poison below. Azumarill knew that its fate had been sealed, fighting to stall the Muks until the bitter end. Another Gunk shot wrapped around Mr. Mime, squeezing it until it vanished to the Muk's surprise.

The final arm grabbed onto Tracy's, stopping him before he reached the roof of the building. Tracy struggled to get free, holding his breath and trying to keep his body out of the poison's range. Ash turned around, stunned for a few seconds at the sight of what was going on. At first he had thought that the Muks had gotten Tracy, but quickly saw that they were only holding onto his backpack.

"Let go of the backpack!" Ash barked.

Tracy stared at Ash as if he were crazy.

To let go of the backpack was unacceptable, its contents consisting of all the Pokemon in Oak's ranch within the spare Pokeglovs that he had. In it were their food supplies, medicine, and other necessities for their journey. It wasn't all of it but rather a good amount of it.

Tracy was determined not to part ways with the backpack, knowing that he would get out of the situation with most of his things undamaged. It was the self appointed responsibility that he had given himself. All the trainers had entrusted Oak with their Pokemon, now with Oak dead, the task to keep them safe had fallen onto him.

He refused to put the Pokemon in danger by introducing them to battles, locking the Pokeballs for good measure so that the Pokemon could not force themselves out. It was then that the decision was made for Tracy. Sandslash leapt down the stairs to see why Ash and Tracy hadn't come up yet. Quickly assessing the situation, Sandslash swung his claws at Tracy, cutting off the backpack straps as well as going through his shirt and some of his skin.

Tracy's shocked expression reflected back onto him from Sandslash's glossy eyes. He could feel himself tipping back on the stairs, he felt the pain of Sandslash's cut, the wound was not deep, but what he had done was unforgivable, whether or not Sandslash knew what he had just done.

The backpack was yanked back into the mash pit of Muks, Pokeglovs, medicine, and food, all of it being destroyed by the Muk's touch. Before the back of Tracy's skull cracked against the edge of the stair, Mr. Mime's third Substitution came, psychically catching Tracy and pulling him, Sandslash, and Ash back onto the roof.

Tracy remained ridged as Mr. Mime set him down, all that he had worked for, the Pokeglovs and Pokemon inside them were now gone. He tried to turn back and head down stairs, the crazed idea of having a chance to save what was left ran through his mind. Ash instantly saw what Tracy was trying to do, jumping onto him and keeping him from going any further.

"Tracy! Let it go!" Ash screamed

"NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tracy replied in an inhuman screech, trying to pull himself closer to the stairs with his nails alone, dragging along the concrete and leaving ten blood trails for each finger. Surge ran over and kicked Tracy in the head, his body going limp instantly from unconsciousness.

Surge asked no questions as to what Tracy was doing or why he was doing it, picking Ash up and placing him onto his feet while he hoisted Tracy over his shoulder and carried him.

Ash looked around, mostly everyone had returned their Pokemon back to their Pokeglovs, Misty and Dawn were crying for their lost Pokemon. Several poison hands latched onto the edges of the rooftop, Samurai rushing over and severing those sections of the building with his blades. The perimeter of the rooftop appeared zigzagged as Samurai had been chipping away at the building so many times, detaching the Muk's poisonous hooks from the roof.

Snorlax, Kingler, and Gyarados remained on the building with them; a dome of poison was over the building. The dome consisted of every Sludge Bomb being thrown at them and held aloft by the psychic powers of their Pokemon alone. Ash's eyes rested on Sabrina who was still sitting crisscrossed, her expression still calm in the face of so much danger.

Ash felt his blood boil, they were now cornered to the point where they could no longer move, there seemed to be no hope for them left now, and still she had not come back. Part of him knew he couldn't blame her for having that expression; she was completely unaware of what was going on at the present moment.

And yet, Ash's illogical anger persisted, wanting to go over and urge Sabrina to work faster before they all died. He had half a mind to go over and smack her, knowing full well the repercussions, but well aware that if she didn't do anything in time, they were all dead.

The rational part of Ash stayed his hand, kept him from moving and made him watch. This had been the worst ordeal that they had ever gone through, for once, Ash considered himself to be in some sort of hell. If it had been his way, he would'v emade the Muk suffer for all the things they had done, rather than give them a merciful quick death by having them ignited and blown up. For the first time in their mission, they had lost Pokemon close to them. They had been pushed into a corner so quickly; they had been outnumbered and overpowered.

He looked at Surge, knowing that Surge would not call this a battle; he would've called it a landslide massacre where they were prolonging their deaths as long as they could. That had been their plan from the start, but the realization of it was finally hitting him. They had said it and planned it so easily, but now that they were actually going through it, they were dreading every second of it. Ash recalled telling himself earlier how he knew that he would feel these emotions and that he knew that things would be all right, but now he began to doubt himself.

The giant dome of the poison they had pooled together and collected was suddenly thrown off the top of the building. Mr. Mime created another Substitution, probably because the third one had died, the fourth one retreating back downstairs where it would probably die again.

Mr. Mime had now only one point of life left and had probably exhausted all of its psychic moves by now, doing whatever it could to delay the Muk's arrival to the top. Ash felt the building begin to teeter and threaten to timber, Ash stumbled and suddenly wanted to hold onto something, daring not to touch Surge, but refusing to get on his hands and knees and hold onto the ground.

Ash returned Mr. Mime's real body to the Pokeglov, as it would be too dangerous to keep him outside any longer. It was then that a single Sludge Bomb arched over to the roof. Usually, at a certain height, the psychic Pokemon would've stopped the move and cast it aside. Ash could see the purple mist of poison that surrounding them, clearly contrasted against the pure invisible air around them.

The purple mist began to fluctuate in and out of the area where their air was contained, Ash could see now that the Pokemon had exhausted all their psychic attacks on holding off the last batch of poison, their strength had run dry with no more to defend themselves.

Everyone watched, unable to do anything, as the Sludge Bomb was about to hit Sabrina. Despite this, she did not move, unaware of what was going to happen to her in a few seconds. No one moved because there was nothing they could do to block it unless they sacrificed something.

Samurai then jumped in the air, his blade held over his head as he swung the katana with full force at the gallons of poison ready to drop over Sabrina. Two splashes were heard as Samurai landed behind Sabrina's sitting form. His blade remained intact, two bubbling puddles landed beside Sabrina who continued to sit.

Samurai examined his most sacred of possession, surprised to see that it had not melted at all. Everyone was just as surprised at Samurai's action, quickly turning their attention to the mountain of poison that was now looming over them. What stared back at them horrified everyone.

The Muks had piled on top of each other, melding and holding together, pilling up more and more until they formed a giant version of themselves. Thousands of eyes swiveled and slid all across the poison titan's body. Gengar floated up and stood his ground before Sabrina. The rest of the psychic Pokemon awoke, being returned to their Pokeglovs.

Regardless of how incredible the mega Muk monstrosity was, they had come prepared for something like this. The giant Muk acted quickly, refusing to let the humans retaliate. Its giant arm swung against the center of the building, absorbing the Muks inside and destroying Mr. Mime's final Substitution.

The building began to fall over, the top corner of it crashing into the side of another building, dragging down its side and carving an opening with what remained of it. Everyone began to slide across the roof before suddenly being levitated into the gaping maw of the building next to them that had just been cut open by the other building.

* * *

Sabrina could feel everyone's eyes resting on her as she cleared the floor of the building of all poison and gently placed them back on the ground. There were so many things that they wanted to say to her, so many questions that they wanted to ask her, but there would be no time for that.

Sabrina worked quickly, expanding the amount of air that they could breath from within the building. She multitasked and read the minds of some of the people, the best part about her mind reading was that they couldn't feel it when she did it unless she told them that she had done it.

Sabrina sent a mind message to everyone, telling them to hold their comments and questions until later. She quickly filtered through the thoughts she had absorbed and saw what they were up against. There was nothing she could do against something that big, or at least because it had no main heart or mind to crush. But from what she saw in their memories, they had something ready for the amalgamation of Muks.

During the Muk's first swing, its other arm was rising to strike down the humans and end their lives once and for all, but the process was longer than the sideswipe. The giant Muk did a poison chop to the fallen building but saw that the humans were no longer there and had retreated to the next building.

The giant Muk was agitated at the human's persistence, overlooking that three Pokemon had positioned themselves above several floors from where the humans preceded. Kingler was at the middle, pointing his open claw at the Muk, Snorlax and Gyarados were both at Kingler's sides, their mouths open and charging up their next attack, which would also be their first combination attack as well.

Sabrina smiled, she had been the one that had levitated them up there once she had read their minds and realized what their plan was. Their attack wouldn't ignite the chemical concentration of the air or the Muks. The name they had thought up of for the attack was simple, but Sabrina felt like it fit.

"Omega Beam" Sabrina giggled.

Three Hyper Beams fired from the building, converging into a single stream of _just pure __**energy**_. The entire beam devoured the Muk within the light, making it disappear from sight. The blast continued for several miles, leaving a canyon in its wake and obliterating everything in its path.

Three thuds came from Snorlax, Kingler, and Gyarados who had put all of their strength into a single blast. They could no longer move their bodies from sheer fatigue, but nothing could erase the smiles they wore from their first successful combination move that had proved more helpful than they had thought.

Ash and Misty returned their Pokemon back their respective Pokeglovs, amazed that the blast had wiped out the giant Muk. Part of the sky had also cleared from the force of the blast, but the gap was quickly sealed back up with the poison in the air. Muks continued to head towards the building.

Whether or not the Omega Beam disintegrated the giant Muk or merely pushed it miles away, the others would never know. Muks began to throw their brethren at the opening in the building, only to be blocked by Sabrina's Alakazam and Gengar. Muks began to bypass their defenses and come in through the walls and from the ground.

* * *

Sabrina had to concentrate, she had found several places during her venture but felt pressured as the Muks were now already within the room. A flurry of Gunk Shots and Sludge Bombs were too much for Alakazam to handle, the poison finally reaching him and bring a swift death.

Gengar had also been hit by a poison attack; he had run out of moves long ago. Alakazam gave a curt nod to Sabrina and then to Gengar, which surprised him immensely. Ever since he was a Haunter and joined the group, Kadabra had disapproved of Haunter's antics.

Haunter had dedicated himself to making Sabrina laugh and help her during battles which he also had fun doing. The more and more that Kadabra resisted him, the more and more that Haunter wanted to get a laugh out of him. It eventually became a goal for Haunter to get Kadabra to acknowledge him, not for being funny, but as being part of the team. Even after he had evolved into a Gengar, Kadabra refused to recognize him and he two eventually evolved into Alakazam. They would spar, but there was never a true victor.

Their times together while they surveyed the city and helped her bury the dead were one of the few moments where they had bonded. Alakazam gave an old chuckle at the shock on Gengar's face; Gengar became even more shocked at the fact that he had finally seen Alakazam laugh; this seemed to make Alakazam laugh even more. And Why couldn't he? He hadn't laughed in several years, now at the end of his life, he had finally met someone who he could consider a friend and something more.

Gengar also began to laugh, extending a hand over to Alakazam, which he kindly accepted and shook. The look in his eyes was unmistakable; they were the eyes of someone staring at another as their equal. The happiness that Gengar felt numbed the pain entirely. Gengar knew that the emotions were genuine and not for the sake of humoring him in the last moments of their life.

The two continued to hold hands and laugh until the poison destroyed them, but their last minute bonds, were truly eternal. Some of the Muks charged forward, ignoring the scene, a small majority of the Muks stayed behind and observed the oddity occurring before them, wondering why they were doing that.

* * *

Tears left Sabrina's eyes as she fought to stay concentrated on the matter at hand. It had been nice to see her Pokemon finally getting along after; she erased the memory of their deaths. Everyone began to crowd around her as the Muks surrounded them, the sounds of the building falling apart and the Muks drowned out the sounds of her friends talking to her.

Their minds were beehives of frantic questions and screams, some directed at her or the others, and some directed at no one in particular. Sabrina held back the Muk's using Psychic; she quickly began to erase things permanently from her memory to strengthen her special defense. With each memory lost, the Muks were pushed back another millimeter.

Sabrina started out with the useless memories, then was forced to erase the more important ones. It was to the point where she was now forced to forget whom Samurai and everyone that had traveled with Ash was, but before she did, she left small comments to them.

"Samurai, I will answer your most recent question" Sabrina said, implanting the memories of everyone that had seen him protect her from the Sludge Bomb. Samurai saw himself attack from everyone's point of view at once, Sabrina pointing out the specific detail in his attack and the clue that gave it away.

When he landed, he did not notice that the ground where he stood had a cut that went along the rest of the roof, going as far as several floors below him. When he had cut through the poison, he had swung with such force that it created a vacuum. His sword had been sheathed in another blade made of air.

* * *

"Brock, I know what you are, I don't see things as you see them, but I hope that you will help make Ash see in the future" Sabrina imparted.

* * *

"Surge, you have to let the past go. What you did then is what made you, but it does not dictate what you will do and who you will become. You are not the same person; you will make different mistakes, and learn from them. Live on" Sabrina commanded before turning to the ex-rockets.

* * *

"Continue on your struggles to better yourself, your efforts will redeem you. Never forget that you are destined for great things," Sabrina reminded.

* * *

"AJ, revenge is not always the answer that will heal the wounds that you bare. You must find solace in some other way, this path you plan to take will not bring you happiness," Sabrina warned.

* * *

"I leave Ash in your protection, please keep him safe" Sabrina asked kindly to Misty and Dawn.

* * *

Her gaze finally rested on Ash, she closed her eyes before talking once more.

* * *

"I will never forget you, just know that I love you and will always love you. One day…one day…"

* * *

The Muks were eating away at her defenses, causing her to forget more and more things. She was running out of memories, forcing herself to do the one thing that she hadn't done since she had met up with him. To help him survive, she read Ash's mind, seeing all their struggles through his eyes.

The night that it all happened, his thoughts of girls as puberty began to kick in, his temporary fear of Pikachu, the death of all those people in the water that would haunt his nightmares, the death of his home town and the people closest to him, the inspiring speech he gave the Pidgeots and so on. She felt his fears, his lusts, his wants, his feelings, all of the things that she had wanted to know about him, but that she wanted to know without the use of her mind reading.

Ever since she fell in love with him, she had wanted to learn about him the normal way, trying to figure him out and knowing only the things that he told her. She fought off the temptation to go the easy way and learn all about him in a second, but she considered his mind sacred and wanted to earn his love the old fashioned way. As tedious as it would've been to her, it might've also ended up being fun.

Now that she had tasted all of his memories, she began erasing them, managing to push the Muks further away. The Muks had been wearing her down but she held against them and concentrated. The few things that she kept to remember were how to interact with other people, that she had a Gengar and Alakazam, and certain psychic abilities she had, and most importantly, Ash. More specifically his name, his face, and the places he had been to in his journeys. Other than that, she forgot everything else, even her own name.

Before that happened, she made quick decisions, on where to teleport everyone. She implanted a thought into Pikachu, ordering him to use Thunderbolt at one of the Muks.

Pikachu did the attack and was teleported away, leaving the Thunderbolt as his only memento. The others teleported as well, before the entire area ignited and exploded, taking out all the Muks in an instant. This explosion would be seen from several cities away, and it was something that they would never forget. It would also commemorate something else.

* * *

That day was the day that the 23-year-old gym leader known as Sabrina died.

* * *

**Next, Chapter 4: Makes the Heart Grow Fonder**


	4. Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

**September 12

* * *

**

Three figures plummeted into several heaps of hay. A bolt of lightning struck to mark their arrival, drowning the sound of their entry. The duet of pounding and roaring rain with howling gales made the barn creak and whistle as the wind managed to wriggle itself through any orifice in the wood.

No rustling arose from the mounds of straw, all was silent within the barn, the barn doors shook from the wind, threatening to burst open and let the tempest inside. Darkness took residence all within the interior of the barn, periodically pierced by the flashes of light that came with the lightning strikes through the openings in the walls.

The first word that worked its way into his mind was warmth, its very essence enveloping him from every inch of his skin. It reminded him of when he would slip into bed with his mother when he was scared, the warm embrace unique to her. After time, the gaps between the embraces became farther and farther.

"_When was the last time I hugged my mother_?" Ash asked himself, thinking about how many months ago it had been. His own question disgusted him, realizing that no one should have to think of that question.

It was then that Ash realized his own rapidly beating heart, still caught in the fervor of fear and stress of the battle with the Muks only a few seconds ago, was not the only one beating painfully against his chest. He could feel another heartbeat resonate against him. Ash's hands weaved through the straw until it met with the thing that was on him.

The lower half of his body was buried underneath the straw that cushioned his fall and the fall of whatever was on him. Had it not been there, his landing may have been a bit more painful. There was no movement upon his contact with the surface of the presence; Ash was blind to the material that met his palms.

Ash grabbed it to move it off of his body, a gasp escaping the mouth that was right next to his ear. The hot breath filled the inside of Ash's head, making his mind go numb. The pieces connected as Ash realized what he was grabbing now.

Ash's hands flew away from Dawn as if she could electrocute him, his face burning hot from embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm really sorry! I…I didn't mean to- I wasn't trying-I couldn't see anything-I was just-"

"Ash, it's okay" Dawn replied calmly and reassuringly despite the fact that she was blushing furiously, lifting herself off of him with strands of straw that clung to her hair falling softly onto Ash's face. She was unable to see him even though she was only a few inches away from his face. Ash could feel Dawn's breath caress his nose and mouth, feeling his face grow hotter and hotter as her breath seemed to emanate closer and closer to his lips.

The crack of lightning's whip launched a flash that illuminated their features from each other for a brief instant. Ash could see the dried tears on Dawn's face, the ones she had shed for the death of her Ambipom. He wondered why he hadn't cried about his own loss.

Dawn saw how close her face was to Ash, seeing the shock on his face. She could hear his beating heart, starting to synchronize with her own. Dawn had unknowingly pinned Ash's arms to the hay, Ash making no attempts at resisting his submission to her, easily capable of overpowering her.

They hadn't noticed how shallow their breathing had become until the darkness pooled back into the absence of light, drowning everything in shadows once more. Ash felt Dawn move away from him.

"I was jus about ta say fer da two of you ta get a room" Meowth said, finally announcing his presence, making Dawn and Ash flinch. Seeing as he was a cat Pokemon and could see in the dark, that little moment that they had had not gone unnoticed by him.

"How much did you see?" Dawn asked sheepishly, trying to avoid looking in the general direction of Meowth's voice.

"Just the end of it", Meowth consoled.

Ash let himself relax, feeling Dawn make her way down the mountain of hay and reach the ground. Meowth had looked around the vicinity, telling Dawn that everything was okay. A musky scent clung to the air; Ash unburied himself from the hay his body was imbedded in.

Dawn turned on the flashlight of her Pokeglov, Ash doing the same. Ash began to shine the light everywhere, looking for where the others had landed. Another bolt of lightning filled the room with light once more, revealing that they were the only people inside the barn.

Ash, Dawn, and Meowth began to frantically search every corner of the room for the others. The searchlights of the Pokeglovs were aided by Meowth's heightened sense of smell and night vision. The air was moist, throwing off any scents that Meowth tried to perceive.

Something rustled as the lights scanned over it, catching Dawn and Ash's attentions. They quickly ran towards the source of movement side by side, Meowth's instincts suddenly kicking in and telling him not to follow Ash and Dawn. Before Meowth could say anything, it was already too late.

Dawn and Ash were launched across the barn, crashing through the wooden doors and outside of the barn. Their bodies slid through the mud, wind and rain assailing them from every angle. Ash tried getting up, only to have a gust of wind tackle him back into the black ocean of mud.

It was utter chaos outside, rain and wind swirling everywhere, booms of lightning deafened them if the howls of the wind and the gush of the rain hadn't already. Meowth hated water, but made his way over to them, helping to guide them through the storm. Ash and May were blinded by mud, deaf and blind to what was going on, knowing only that Meowth was there and taking them somewhere.

The rain and wind suddenly ceased to harass them; Ash and Dawn tried to move their arms only to cry at the pain of it. Meowth flipped them onto their backs, wiping the mud from their faces with his paws, stopping periodically to wash them in the rain. Ash caught his breath, the pain making his teeth grit and no position he placed it in seemed to sooth the pain in his arms.

Dawn shivered and cried, Ash broke the silence by talking to Meowth once he finished clearing the rest of the mud from his face, seeing that nothing had changed as he stared back into darkness.

"Meowth, what happened?" Ash managed to say.

"An accident, ya spooked a Rapidash dat was in here. Rapidash's have dis little evolutionary reflex of kicking at da slightest feelin of somethin chargin or sneakin up behind dem. The Rapidash tought you were gonna attack her an accidentally kicked. I was gonna attack her but I didn feel any killer intent. I asked her about it an she explained ta me what I'm tellin ya now. She's really sorry, she didn mean ta do it."

Ash was only able to absorb about half of what Meowth had said, the pain in his chest and arm made it extremely hard to concentrate. It was the same arm that had been broken when Pikachu had used Volt Tackle on him, and it seemed as though the same section of his ribs had also been damaged.

Ash suddenly forgot about his wounds when it came to him that Dawn was going through the same thing he was. His threshold for pain was higher than hers; she hadn't been exposed to pain of this magnitude before. Ash suddenly wanted to take all her pain as his own, part of him questioning his sanity when another surge of pain ran through his body.

He had been lucky before when his arm had been broken; he had passed out instantly and woken up with it healed by Chansey. With no Chansey in sight, they would both have to heal naturally unless they found a substitute.

"I tink your arms are broken" Meowthe deducted.

"No shit" Ash spat back.

Meowth ignored Ash's sudden response, blaming the pain that Ash was going through on his reply. He assessed the situation, thinking about all of Dawn and Ash's Pokemon, wondering which ones could heal while asking them medical questions.

"Where does it hurt besides ya arms?" Meowth inquired.

With a bit of effort, they both replied that their ribs hurt with every breath, making Meowth worry. For all he knew, they could be internally bleeding, of have a piece of their rib now impaling their lungs. It suddenly dawned on Meowth something that he could do.

Ash, I tink dat your Pokeglov only responds ta ya voice an only yours. Tell it ta summon a Pokemon dat can heal, you too Dawn." Meowth ordered. Ash did what he was told, nothing happened. It took Dawn several times for the computer to recognize her command through the sobs, but she managed to ask her Pokeglov the question.

Dawn's Pokeglov sparked and fired a burst of light that became Lopunny who collapsed onto the floor. Lopunny was still tired from the fight that they had just gone through a few seconds back although it felt that it was days ago. Meowth didn't understand why the Pokeglov had summoned Dawn's Lopunny. As far as Meowth knew, Lopunny had no healing moves.

Meowth wondered whether the Pokeglovs were malfunctioning, taking a closer look and realizing that there was a horseshoe print imbedded into the glove, exposing some of the wiring and chips. The Pokeglov sparked occasionally, Meowth wondered how much damage the equipment had sustained.

"I know a healing move," Lopunny wheezed, catching Meowth's attention.

"Really!" Meowth replied; surprised that Lopunny had kept this move from them all this time when there had been perfect moments where it would've been useful.

"It's not something that I've ever used, but I know that I have it. There's a catch though. You're going to have to attack me," Lopunny explained.

"What!" Meowth cried, "Why?"

"My move is called Healing Wish. If I faint, I can heal anyone that I choose. It's meant to be used for Pokemon, but with the dampeners off, I can heal humans" Lopunny gasped.

Meowth realized that the responsibility rested with him to attack a fellow comrade to save another. He looked through his arsenal of attacks, only knowing moves that required scratching and drawing blood. Meowth looked around for something to knock out Lopunny with before she passed out and made it impossible to knock her out and use her move. Meowth's eyes landed on the Rapidash sitting in the corner, facing away from everyone.

Lopunny's body was sent flying through the air and landed roughly where Ash and Dawn had landed. They had used Rpaidash's reflex once more, except this time it was to help them. Dawn was the first to be healed, returning Lopunny and washing the mud off her body with Empoleon's water. The blow had not been as severe as what Dawn and Ash had gone through, seeing as Pokemon were made of tougher stuff.

Lopunny had managed to stretch her powers to heal Ash as well. Ash summoned his Monferno to light up the area with his tail once he could stand again. He collected the surrounding straw and made a tiny mound that Monferno set on fire. Ash sat down as close as he could to it so to warm his body, Dawn joining him on the other side. The both of them were wet and covered in mud, despite the warmth that the fire was giving off, they continued to shiver.

"Unless I'm confused, don't humans need ta keep warm unless dey wanna catch a cold. If ya keep dos clothes on, dey'll make ya sick, plus der dirty so your gonna need ta wash'em" Meowth warned.

Ash and Dawn looked warily at Meowth, blushing at the thought. The both of them refused to look at each other but knew that Meowth had a point and there was no debating it. Ash made his way to the other side of the hay mountain, making another mound that Monferno set on fire. Both of them began to strip their clothes off, constantly paranoid that the other could be peeking at them.

Meowth offered to make sure that neither peeked at the other but they were not comfortable with Meowth looking either, and it wasn't like they could send him out of the barn into the hellish rain outside. Both of them asked Meowth to not look at them, Meowth wondering why humans were so self-conscious about being naked. Technically, Pokemon were always naked, it was something so natural that they didn't bother feeling any embarrassment over it. Meowth decided to bear with them and walked over to the Rapidash to see why it was still in the dark corners of the room, staring into its dark recesses as if to punish herself.

Ash summoned Floatzel, ordering it to rinse out his clothes and set them by the fire to dry, Dawn doing the same with her Empoleon. Ash buried himself into the piles of hay, feeling the warmth from the fire and the warmth that the hay absorbed. Dawn decided to do the same, watching her clothes dry after returning her Pokemon back to her Pokeglov like Ash had.

She whispered an apology to her Lopunny, hoping that the Rapidash's attack didn't hurt it too much, letting her know how much she appreciated Lopunny's sacrifice. Dawn also thanked her Empoleon that had used the last bits of its strength to wash her clothes.

There was silence once more; Meowth had shut the barn doors to keep the storm outside. Dawn and Ash tried to not think about the fact that the other was not wearing anything and that they had only several feet of straw between them. Ash began to think back on all the things that had just happened as the sounds of crackling fire and the storm fought for dominance of sound within the barn.

Ash tried to call the others on the Pokeglov but the damage that the Rapidash had done had made it impossible to access. There was no way for Ash to know how to fix the Pokeglov, or where to start. He began to look through all of the functions that had been damaged, seeing that the Pokedex was still intact and that he could summon Pokemon without a problem.

The flashlight system was completely gone for him while Dawn's flickered feebly. They could still scan Pokemon, but their map of the area was blurred horribly. Rapidash had hooves that were ten times harder than diamonds, which explained why the Pokeglovs had been damaged so severely.

Ash stared at the dancing flames, the yellow reminding him of Pikachu. Once again, fate had separated them. Ash felt empty without his greatest friend at his side. He worried about where the others were; whether they had even made it alive or if they had landed in a safe place.

If Dawn was here, then he was sure that Sabrina had no trouble teleporting the others since she and Misty were the ones teleported before him. He also didn't have to worry about Pikachu and the other Pokemon not making it through the teleportation since Meowth was with them as well.

Dawn was also busy worrying about the fact that they were now separated from the others. She couldn't help but let her imagination get the best of her and make her wonder whether Sabrina had accidentally killed them. Then again, if she had sent them all to the same spot, their remnants would've been everywhere.

It then occurred to Dawn that there was a chance that Sabrina had accidentally separated them. If that was so, Dawn was unsure whether they were even still alive then. She thought back on their situation, they had technically landed in a safe area, and Sabrina had gone and looked for safe areas to teleport them to. They had managed to make to the barn without problems; Dawn hoped that the same had happened with the others.

* * *

For the next several hours the both of them had their thoughts preoccupied with worries, both of them worried about where their group was, but one of them worried about the well being of their mother, the other of worried about the Pokemon that had grown to be their best friend.

"Dawn…do you…like me?" Ash asked timidly out of the blue.

Dawn's body straightened out as she flinched, blushing at the question and staring deep into the fire that left purple ghosts on her vision. There was an entire minute of silence before Dawn answered.

"I…do."

It was silent once more; neither of them knew what to say next. Dawn's heartbeat rapidly part of her was smiling at the fact that she had just confessed. Then Dawn remembered Misty, suddenly feeling guilty. She shook away the sensation, knowing that Misty had said that love was a battlefield and she had been given the chance to confess. Yet the feeling continued to linger, Dawn could not shake off the feeling that she was honor bound to go for Ash while Misty was around.

Dawn took a deep breath and sighed, "Misty likes you too."

Ash blushed harder; the fact that it came from Dawn had now settled it in his mind. Brock had told him before, but Ash had been reluctant to acknowledge it. Deep down he knew he shouldn't be surprised, but here he was, amazed by the old obvious knowledge that seemed new and enlightening.

The gaps of silence after speaking did not seem to shorten.

"Uh…what do you like about me…you and Misty?" Ash inquired hesitantly.

The next several minutes were extremely embarrassing for the both of them, Ash having to drag out the answers from Dawn. Answers that Ash never considered were important to liking someone, like how he was brave and determined. When Dawn had admitted and said all that she could, silence reigned once again. Both of them were blushing, their bodies now entirely warm and their clothes looked dry.

"Ash…who do you like more?" Dawn worked up the courage to ask.

Ash winced, suddenly feeling that the world's weight had been dumped on his shoulders. He could feel the pressure with every second that he didn't respond to her question. Ash quickly weighed the pros and cons of his answer and how they would affect her and possibly Misty as well as the team.

Before Ash had a chance to answer a large growl erupted throughout the barn that rivaled the thunder outside. Dawn's giggle reached Ash's ears as he looked at his own stomach.

"Dawn, that wasn't me! I'm not even hungry!" Ash defended.

"Then who was it?" Dawn asked skeptically, knowingly letting the conversation change for Ash's sake.

"I tink she's hungry" Meowth answered, pointing to the Rapidash in the corner of the barn. Ash looked at the Rapidash, reminding himself that they were not alone. He didn't know how to feel towards someone who had hurt them on accident, whether he should let it go, or be angry.

"Why doesn't she eat? There's plenty of hay here" Dawn pointed out.

"She says she been starvin herself cause she doesn't wanna live no more" Meowth translated what the Rapidash had told him earlier.

"Why's that?" Ash inquired.

"She says dat a little ova three weeks ago, somethin made her go crazy, when she came to, she killed her master and her friend, burnin deir house in da process. A few days ago she decided ta stop eatin so she could die an join her friends again" Meowth clarified.

The Rapidash made a small noise, Meowth turning to Rapidash in surprise.

"You know him, what d'ya mean ya know him," Meowth cried out.

"Know who, Meowth?" Dawn called out.

"Ash, she says that she knows Ash" Meowth began before suddenly turning silent to hear what Rapidash was saying once more.

"What is she saying now?" Ash said, wracking his brains to remember where he had seen a Rapidash. He had seen so many trainers that had Rapidashes; he didn't recall making a lasting impression on any of them in his past.

"She's saying that she could never forget the human that made it possible for her to evolve in that race several years ago" Meowth enlightened.

The mention of the race suddenly clicked for Ash, remembering how during the start of his journey, he had met up with a girl with a Ponyta and a Growlithe. She had gotten hurt before an upcoming race and he offered to help. He ended up winning the race and in the process, helping the Ponyta evolve.

Of all the places that they could've teleported to, they ended up near a friendly Pokemon. Rapidash's allegiances were now no longer in question, Ash no longer wondering why the Rapidash hadn't attacked and killed them in their moment of weakness.

Ash started to reach for his dried clothes, putting them on within the hay, Dawn feeling the rustling movement with the mound. He pushed himself up, pulling stray stands of hay that made its way into his clothes when he put them on. Ash made his way to the Rapidash, Dawn watching from behind a wall of straw that she made to cover herself from Ash's view.

Rapidash made no attempt to look anywhere but the darkest crevice of the corner from the wall. As Ash kneeled down beside the Rapidash with Meowth at his side, Ash could plainly see all the details he had missed from a distance and behind the shroud of darkness.

The Rapidash's flames burned weakly, barely enough to light the shadows, which was why they hadn't seen her at first. Her ribs poked through the skin that was taut on her body. Ash felt afraid to touch her, the paleness of her skin was like that of porcelain but with the texture of molting flesh.

He found it hard to connect his previous image of Rapidash with the one here. Another day like this, and Ash was sure that she would die. He reached out hesitantly to stroke the Rapidash's skin. He gingerly slid his hand across it, Rapidash flinching at first, but relaxing after a few seconds as she reminded herself that this was an old friend. It had been several weeks since she had experienced human contact. Rapidash couldn't fathom how many hours she had spent, mourning the death of her friends and being ravaged by the guilt of murdering them.

When the loneliness became too much, she made her decision to fast until death, considering that to be more of a blessing than the torture she was going through. Ash couldn't help but pity the once mighty Rapidash, shuffling over to her and waiting for her to fully acknowledge him.

"Rapidash, I know that you killing your trainer must hurt, but starving yourself and dying isn't the answer. I'm really sure your master..." Ash paused.

Rapidash whinnied, looking to Meowth who translated, "Lara, Lara Laramie."

"Your master Lara, wouldn't want you to do this. She'd want you to live on for her as well, she loved you and doing this would only sadden her" Ash said, feeling slightly bad for forgetting the name of Rapidash's trainer.

Dawn watched from within the hay, noticing that Ash was saying the words with more tenderness than when he usually spoke. She realized then, that it was as if Ash was talking to himself.

* * *

After another hour of convincing, and a few tears on Rapidash's part, Rapidash decided to begin eating again. Thanks to the few functioning sections of the Pokeglov, Ash learned the abilities that she had. One of those abilities being Flash Fire, which strengthened Rapidash if hit with a fire attack instead of hurting her. Ash summoned Monferno again, telling him to use some of his fire attacks on Rapidash. By the end of the night, Rapidash had returned to her full glory. Ash and Meowth slept against the sleeping Rapidash's stomach, blanketed by hay.

* * *

Ash began to stir from his slumber, feeling Rapidash's stomach rise and fall against his head. A familiar soothing scent wafted into Ash's nose as he tried to look down, his chin bumping against a river of blue hair directly underneath him. Ash suddenly tensed, acknowledging the presence of his limbs and realizing where they were. His arms were wrapped around Dawn's slender frame; her fully clothed figure had nestled into Ash's embrace. Ash couldn't begin to fathom how she had managed to creep her way into his arms without waking him up.

Ash was hesitant to move so not to wake her but knew full well that he had to prioritize the finding of Pikachu and the others above all else. He gently lifted his arm off of Dawn's body, staring into the blinking digital numbers on the cracked screen of his Pokeglov's glossy crimson surface. It was one of the few functions that had survived the damage from the horseshoe print imbedded into it. From what Ash saw, they had slept until noon, Ash swiftly and silently reprimanding himself for wasting his time sleeping where he could've been doing something more productive.

Rays of light filtered through the cracks in the wood, illuminating the countless specks of dust that lingered in the air, swirling with the slightest gust from movement. Ash carefully untangled his leg and pulled out his arm that had been buried underneath Dawn's waist, rolling away before getting up. He tiptoed his way to the exit, opening it and flinching when he saw that the door creaked with every millimeter that he moved it. Ash didn't want to disturb the others and wake them, so when the door was barely wide enough for him to squeeze through, he exited.

The effect was instantaneous; the contrasting intensity of light was overwhelming, blinding Ash to the point of pain and discomfort. Ash turned his gaze towards the ground, hearing the mud slosh onto his shoes with every shift in weight distribution in his legs. Ash ignored the fact that his shoes were slowly becoming ruined, waiting for his eyes to adapt to the bright sunlight. After several minutes, his vision adjusted itself accordingly.

Ash looked around, feeling that he was in the center of a swamp, only minus the trees. He had no idea how long it had rained for. The more he gazed, the less and less impossible the idea of it raining for several consecutive days became. This looked nothing like the ranch that he had visited all those years ago, remembering there being a dirt road, grassy plains, and the wooden fences of the ranch.

Ash attempted to access the 3D map that his Pokeglov had come equipped with, but it was too fuzzy to discern anything. Ash searched through his archives of memory, trying to remember where he was by sheer memory alone. When nothing came to him he looked back to his Pokeglov, squinting his eyes as hard as he could to see if it made anything recognizable. He then noticed that there were several red dots that blinked through the blurred map.

Two of the dots were near each other, up ahead were another three that were also very close, ahead of them was a lone red dot with another lone dot further away from the one before it. He noticed that one of the dots was beginning to move towards the first dot that he saw, the door behind him suddenly opened. Dawn immediately suffered through the same that he did concerning the brightness of the day, turning her body back to the dimmed atmosphere of the barn.

"Ash? Are you there?" Dawn asked meekly, her words were slightly slurred as she was still half asleep.

"Yeah" Ash replied simply, quickly looking back to his Pokeglov and seeing that two of the dots were now together.

"Ash, I'm sorry if what I did bothered you. I didn't think you would mind, you seemed a lot warmer and I didn't want to bother Meowth who was already sleeping on Rapidash's back and I was kind of cold since the hay wasn't-" Dawn blurted out rapidly.

"Don't worry about it, Dawn. It's fine. Can you do me a favor though?" Ash said hurriedly, ignoring what had happened only minutes ago, his back to the blinded Dawn as he stared at the blinking red dots.

"Sure, Ash. What is it?" Dawn replied meekly, finding it strange that he was so nonchalant over what happened and what he was going to make her do.

"Walk over to the end of the barn" Ash ordered.

Dawn complied, finding his order a welcome one as the further that she delved into the barn's darkness, the less her eyes hurt from the brilliance outside. Ash watched in amazement as the two dots that had once been together, were now separating. Rapidash and Meowth woke up to the sound of Ash bounding through the barn and nearly tackling Dawn. His arms had latched onto her shoulders and held her before him, shaking her gently for emphasis.

"Dawn, I think I found them! I think I found the others!" He cried.

It took a few seconds for Dawn to register what Ash was telling her, seeing as his sudden actions had caught her off guard. When she realized what Ash had actually said, a smile blossomed. She hugged Ash briefly, his turn to be caught with his guard down, before she let go and looked up at him with wonder.

"How?" she simply put.

"The map is screwed but I'm able to make out these red dots that show who's wearing Pokeglovs, which is why I asked you to go to the end of the barn. We can just follow the red dots to find the others" Ash replied.

"But Ash...what about the ones who don't have the Pokeglovs on?" Dawn pointed out.

The moment of glee seemed to evaporate and dissipate into the air. Ash realized that nearly half of their group had not worn the Pokeglovs, like Surge, Samurai, AJ, and Sabrina. It would be a while before they came together again without the help of their Pokeglovs.

Ash began to consider that everyone else's Pokeglovs were not damaged like the ones he and Dawn had. If they were looking for the others, there was a good chance that the others were looking for him as well. Knowing Sabrina, she was probably looking into the future and finding a place to meet up with them. Ash conveyed his thoughts to Dawn, calming her quickly and helping her mood by having his hope rub off him and onto her.

Once everyone's eyes had become comfortable with how bright it was outside, Ash and Dawn began to prepare to leave. The both of them stared at the sea of mud before them, wondering how there were going to cross it with the least amount of filth coating them. Both of them turned to the sounds of clopping that came from behind them. Rapidash walked out, staring into the vast mud lands that she once roamed, now foreign and alien to her. The mud underneath her rapidly dried from the sheer heat of the flames just above her hooves. Rapidash looked at them, motioning towards her back as she stood still.

"Ash, I think she wants us to ride her" Dawn guessed.

Rapidash nodded, staring forward once more.

"I tink you might need dis" Meowth said, pulling out a saddle from somewhere within the barn, brushing off the dirt, dust, and hay that had accumulated on it over the course of several weeks.

Ash received it and placed it on Rapidash's back, who didn't budge once from the position she was in.

"Rapidash...does this mean that you want to come with us? Do you want to join us and be our Pokemon?" Ash offered.

Rapidash nodded, "She says dat bein alone is da worse pain in da world, before you appeared, she had no idea what ta do or where ta go. She wants ta join ya an help us find da others, no matta what happens, she says anythin is betta dan stayin here alone" Meowth revealed.

"Glad to have you aboard, Rapidash" everyone smiled, Dawn stroking her as Ash fastened the saddle to her. As soon as Ash was sure that the saddle was secure, but not too tight on Rapidash, he backed away and aimed his Pokeglov at her, attempting to scan her and have his Pokeglov accept her as his new Pokemon. The Pokeglov began to whir to life, but slowly stopped and gave an error noise. Ash looked frustratedly at his Pokeglov, realizing that the damage that Rapidash had caused made his Pokeglov incapable of accepting her as one of Ash's Pokemon and letting him summon and return her.

"Something wrong, Ash?" Dawn asked, peering over Rapidash with worry.

"It's not accepting her as one of the Pokemon, I guess the damage she did was a lot. I'm gonna have to talk to Tracy about this, he'll definitely know how to fix this thing. I don't wanna tinker with this in case I break it more, know what I mean?" Ash said.

Dawn nodded, "Maybe if I try it" she suggested, walking back and doing the same thing. After a few seconds, they heard a beep of approval, surprising everyone.

"No way! It worked?" Ash responded.

"I think so. It even shows all of her moves" Dawn said, surprised to see that Rapidash knew a variety of moves such as Poison Jab, Bounce, Flare Blitz, and Mega Horn.

"I hope you don't mind, Rapidash?" Ash inquired.

Rapidash shook her head and lowered herself to let Dawn, Ash, and Meowth on. The three of them mounted, Ash taking the reins while Dawn sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his waste, Meowth taking the last bit of space on Rapidash and bringing up the rear.

"I hope we're not too heavy" Dawn commented, hearing a snort from Rapidash to convince her otherwise.

"Hold on tight" Ash ordered, feeling Dawn's arms squeeze tighter around him and her face nuzzling against his back, causing him to blush.

"You ready Rapidash?" Ash asked, seeing flames come from her nostrils. "Alright then" Ash mumbled, looking at the red dots on the Pokeglov's map, "Go!"

A flame-like aura enveloped all of Rapidash's body as well as Ash and the others, Rapidash burst forward leaving a spray of dried mud against the barn's surface. Rapidash's heat dried the mud on the ground before her the second she touched it, Ash and the others screamed for the longest time, unaccustomed to the sheer speed. Eventually, they would adapt to this and stop screaming as they began to enter the area that Ash knew well from what he remembered as the safari zone.

* * *

**Several hundred miles away.  
**  
Jessie, James, and two other figures crashed into a dark room, toppling multiple shelves with clothes every style, the sounds that erupted echoed through the room. Plumes of dust rose into the air, a series of loud coughs echoed through the empty halls of the mansion. The door at the end of the room was kicked open, by the time that all of them could open their eyes in response to the sudden activity, the revolver clicked in preparation to fire.

"How the hell did the two of you get here?" the voice said, James staring back at the gun pointed several feet away from his skull, amazed to see its wielder clad in full knight armor pulling the trigger before James could answer.

* * *

**Next, Chapter 5: Guns Ablazin**


	5. Guns Ablazen

**Some of you may not recognize one of the characters in this chapter due to the fact that he was one of the characters in the banned english episode of Pokemon. I included him because as I have emphasized before, I try to make this fic as true to the anime as possible so to do it justice.**

* * *

The countless wild Pokemon of the Safari zone made sure to stay clear of the burning blur that passed through the wild. Anything that was in Rapidash's way was instantly incinerated. Rapidash would generally burn through the foliage, dodge it, or leap over it by using Bounce.

Ash, Dawn, and Meowth had become accustomed to the speed of Rapidash's gallop, but they still hadn't grown accustomed to every one of Rapidash's tall bounds that went over trees that were several meters tall. Ash wondered how Rapidash was able to even jump so high, but stopped questioning it after a while when he reminded himself that he was on a Pokemon.

Dawn was surprised that not a single Pokemon had come to attack them; then again, after looking around her while Rapidash ran, she wondered whether the wild Pokemon around them could even catch up with them in the first place. Meowth felt like he was in constant tunnel vision, seeing nothing but blurs from all directions.

Ash looked at his Pokeglov, nodding in approval when he saw that they were heading in the right direction. The safari was dark, the canopy above blocking out most of the sunlight from reaching the under story of the forest. Nearly all of that changed in an instant with the final leap from Rapidash.

Ash was temporarily blinded, as it seemed as though someone had pulled up the blinds and let in the full extent of the sun's brilliance. Once Ash was able to look around, he felt his heart skip a beat. They had made their way out of the safari forest zone and into the grassy plains. An ocean of grass and sky connected at the horizon of Ash's vision, as far as the eye could see.

The wind made the grass ripple like waves, not a single cloud in the sky was there to block the unmerciful rays of the sun. The wind threatened to topple all of them from off of Rapidash, all of them clinging tighter to the horse Pokemon. Yet, what made Ash actually skip a heartbeat was when he looked down, seeing that they were several meters in the air. Gravity began to kick in, Rapidash began to plummet back onto the earth, while Ash, Dawn, and Meowth felt their bodies lifting into the air with only their grips on Rapidash to anchor them.

All of them screamed, Rapidash ignored them and pushed away their annoying yells that she had grown accustomed to over the short time that they had been together. Ash's teeth rattled on impact; the grass in the vicinity was blown back in every direction away from Rapidash. A small crater with four imprints from Rapidash's horseshoes was all that was left of the grass beneath her feet.

The others didn't even have time to catch their breath before Rapidash began galloping again. Ash couldn't help but marvel at Rapidash's endurance and speed; they had made it through the Safari Zone's forest section in record time. He guessed that if they continued at the pace they were at now, they could meet up with the others within an hour.

* * *

She continued her pace for several minutes until she gradually began to slow down getting Ash, Dawn, and Meowth's attention. Ash looked over to what made her stop, surprised to see an entire shifting pool of brown figures before them. He jumped down to get a better look; the second his feet touched the floor he began to lose his balance and felt disoriented.

Being on Rapidash who was going so fast had affected Ash, as well as Dawn and Meowth who followed suit and got off to help Ash up before he could warn them. Once they regained their balance, Ash peered off at the figures before them that were no longer moving but staring at them intently.

The sudden stillness was unnerving, but Rapidash held her ground, as did the others. Ash's Pokeglov did not beep and tell him what Pokemon they were looking at; the damage had spread to the database and scanning systems as well. Not that it needed to tell him what Pokemon he was seeing, considering that he had grown acquainted with them a long time ago.

What he saw was an entire herd of Kangaskhans, braced for a battle. Ash felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, wondering what Pokemon to summon, forgetting that a grand majority of them were already exhausted and in no condition to fight.

"Meowth, you can speak Pokemon, go tell them that we mean them no harm. Since they haven't attacked us, that means that they're not violent and are just worried that we'll attack them," Dawn said. Meowth looked at her incredulously and looked back at the army of monstrous Kangaskhans with armor plated skin and bulging muscles.

"None of us can speak Pokemon, Meowth" Ash reminded.

Meowth couldn't help but feel a little betrayed, walking timidly over to the group of Kangaskhans. He made sure not to get too close, the distance he was closing was already making the Kangaskhans more and more agitated. Meowth began to tell them that they meant them no harm and were only passing through. One of the largest Kangaskhans walked over to the front, towering over the others, and from the looks of it, she did not look pleased.

"I remember you when I was younger, you were with a male and a female human and tried to capture us and our mothers. I know it is you because I recognize your scent, do not think that you can fool us once more" the Kangaskhan queen roared.

Ash already felt that something had gone entirely wrong when the ground beneath his feet began to tremble. Rapidash jumped onto her hind legs, unsure whether to attack them or run away. Ash was already preparing to summon one of his Pokemon when something stabbed into the ground between him and the Kangaskhans.

What had imbedded into the ground was a large wooden boomerang. The stampede-induced earthquake rapidly came to a stop, the Kangaskhans stopped in bewilderment. Something behind the Kangaskhans made them move to the side, creating a pathway to the gap between Ash and them. Ash did not immediately recognize the person before him.

He wore a spotted fur loincloth and underwear; his chest was bare and chiseled with seemingly rock-head abs and bulging biceps. His skin was tan all around, covered in dirt and grime. Black-green spiky hair rose from his scalp, wild and untamed with the chances of it ever seeing a comb being rare. His eyes were dark; spiral marks were on his cheeks, directly under his eyes.

"I know you…I know you! When mom and dad found me, you were there too!" The boy cried out, staring at him as if he were seeing a ghost.

"Ash," Dawn whispered, "do you know this kid?"

"I…I don't know" Ash replied.

"Tommy! Who is it?" A woman's voice called out.

"IT'S THEM MOM! THOSE PEOPLE THAT WERE WITH YOU WHEN YOU FOUND ME!" Tommy yelled.

"Oh my, really?" the women cried back and ran through the Kangaskhans and towards her son. The women wore a two-piece spotted outfit, similar to her son's fur, her hair a dark red and wild. She took one long look at Ash and smiled.

"I never thought that I would see you again," the women said warmly.

Ash looked at the Kangaskhans and the boy with her mother before realizing that he had met these people before. Back near the beginning of his journey he was heading towards the Safari Zone when he found a small child that controlled the Kangaskhans. The boy's parents were looking for him after they had dropped him from a helicopter. Once they had found him, they decided that they would like with him and the Kangaskhans.

After traveling and surviving in the new world of Pokemon for so long, Ash had come to the decision that humans and wild Pokemon were incapable of coexisting. Before him now stood living proof that he had been wrong. Ash was sure that the boy before him hadn't caught any of the Kangaskhans, but coexisted with them.

"I can't believe that you two are alive" Ash remarked.

"What do you mean by that?" Tommy's mother asked.

"Honey, is everything all right over there?" the father's voice resounded from the Kangaskhans as he made his way over to them.

"Yes honey, but you'll never believe who's here. Come quickly!" His wife yelled.

The short man ran over to them, stopping in his tracks and doing double takes before crying out in joy.

Ash was surprised when he saw that the man hadn't changed that much after so many years of being in the wild. He still sported a bowl-shaped hair cut, and the spiral markings that were under his cheeks were still there, although a bit hidden from dirt. He continued to radiate an aura of joy despite his obvious fatigue, which Ash admired from just looking at his smile underneath a bristled black mustache.

"Well I'll be, it's that fine young gentleman that helped us find our son" He chuckled.

"Mom, Dad, can he join us for lunch? Can he?" Tommy pleaded.

Tommy's parents looked at each other and smiled, "I don't see why not. We've gathered enough berries and beef for a feast. How we could say no to the very boy and his that helped us find our son?"

Ash, Meowth, Dawn, and Rapidash were hesitant to move forward, eyeing the Kangaskhans. Tommy took quick notice and looked at the Kangaskhan herd.

"Don't worry girls, these guys are our friends" Tommy practically said with a tone of authority. Tommy looked back at Ash, "You guys can come over now, and you won't have to worry about them attacking. I've told them to not to, and they trust me so much they never question or go against my orders."

Ash felt the hostility and tension of the Kangaskhans leave the area, they had not entirely accepted them, but they now tolerated their presence. He looked to Dawn, nodding towards her. Dawn returned Rapidash and walked with Ash and Meowth, feeling a mixture of fear and safety among the protection of the Kangaskhans.

* * *

Over the course of a few hours they ate their fill of meat and berries, Ash introduced Dawn to Tommy and his parents, explaining to Dawn how he had met them. Out of courtesy to the rare occasion of having guests, Tommy and his parents bathed in a nearby river before preparing lunch so to smell nice.

Dawn and Ash did the same, taking the far ends of the river, Dawn being with Tommy's mother and Ash being with Tommy's father and Tommy himself. After explaining that they were looking their friends who had gotten separated, they asked them if they had encountered any other Pokemon or saw that the Kangaskhans were now different.

The family told their story, incorporating a summary of the years after they had reunited with their son. Life had become a lot more difficult living in the wilderness. Kangaskhans were herbivores that grazed, grass being their main diet. Seeing as humans could not survive on such sustenance, the family had to find their own food.

Their method of traveling consisted of being in the Kangaskhan's front pouch and having the Kangaskhan take them to an area of food such as berries or other Pokemon. Wherever they went, the rest of the herd went with them, scaring off any of the wild Pokemon around them that were sane enough to know to avoid a herd of Kangaskhan.

Tommy's parents began to teach Tommy everything that they knew, such how to talk, math, and other basic subjects that they felt he needed to know too function as a member of society. After several years of living in the wild with the diet they were surviving on, their bodies toughened and thinned and their muscles grew and strengthened.

A few weeks ago when they were sleeping in the pouch of one of the Kangaskhans, all the Kangaskhans began to roar in pain. The infants also screeched in agony, Tommy and his parents scrambling out of the pouches while the Kangaskhan's flailed their bulky arms around.

Every Kangaskhan went into a frenzy, doing their best to avoid hurting Tommy and his parents. After a few minutes, all the Kangaskhans passed out on the ground. Tommy's father checked the Kangaskhan's pulses to see if they were alive, once he was sure that the Kangaskhans and their infants were okay, he let them sleep. Once they woke up the next morning, they acted as if nothing happened.

Tommy and his parents couldn't point out anything different about the Kangaskhans, after a while, they gave up questioning what had happened since the Kangaskhans were acting no different from their usual selves. It wasn't until Ash and Dawn explained to them what had happened that they became aware and horrified at what had occurred that night.

Unlike the other times, Ash did not go into full detail of what they had gone through trying to survive. With Tommy and his parents living in the wild and cut off from the outside world, they had not noticed what was going on around them.

Occasionally, the officer Jenny that protected the area would visit them and talk, but other than that they received no visitors. Tommy's parents were planning to leave the Safari Zone within a couple of years and go back to their old lives once they thought that Tommy would ready to letting go of the Kangaskhans and fit into society.

* * *

Ash had considered offering them to come with him, Dawn, and Meowth on their journey to find a safe place, save people, but more importantly at the moment, to find the others. Yet, although he knew there was a chance that they would go with him, he didn't know if the Kangaskhans would follow.

There was only so much that Tommy could ask of the Kangaskhans, and what Ash would be asking of him would push the Kangaskhans to their limits. Ash had no Pokeballs on hand to give to Tommy so to catch the Kangaskhans and take them with him; he doubted if Tommy would even do something like that.

Ash knew that Tommy and his parents were better off staying with the Kangaskhans. The Kangaskhans helped them find food and protected them, they were not part of Ash's plan to save people from the wild Pokemon because they didn't need saving. Having the Kangaskhans join them would also make them a big target; they would also have to account for all the food that the Kangaskhans would need to consume. Ash wasn't sure if he could handle that responsibility, for all he knew they would be heading into territories that would have no grass for them to feast on.

When Dawn tried to offer to join them, Ash quickly elbowed her gently in the side, shaking his head when she looked at him. She kept silent, holding her questions until later. She wondered why Ash didn't want them to join and eventually came to the same realization as had.

Once they had their fills, Dawn summoned Rapidash to prepare to leave. Tommy and his parents insisted that he summon his other Pokemon so that they could eat as well, not only that, but have them take some food with them as they traveled. Ash felt guilty that he was depleting their reserves but they told him not to worry, convincing him that he wasn't even making a dent in surplus of food.

Ash accepted the offering graciously, promising to see them again and to stay in the Safari Zone. Tommy and his parents thanked him for telling him what was going on, Tommy giving an extra thanks for helping him be reunited with his parents, something that he hadn't formally thanked Ash for. Tommy's parents did the same, attributing their recent years of happiness with their son to Ash's actions.

Meowth explained his situation and gave his sincerest apology, ecstatic to hear that Tommy and his parents forgave him, as well as Jessie and James. He knew that he and the other two would have to ask for a lot of forgiveness from many people, they had a lot to make up for the trouble they had caused. Despite the task seeming daunting, they refused to give up, driven by the same motivation that had fueled their attempts at capturing Pikachu.

Ash didn't want to waste anymore time than he had to with Tommy's family, but happy that his Pokemon had been given a chance to eat which would help in their recovery. The three of them waved goodbye as Rapidash burst forward in an instant, making them vanish from sight.

* * *

They had only been traveling for fifteen minutes, not even Meowth's or Rapidash's instincts could've warned them of what was to happen next. A loud bang nearly deafened Ash and Dawn, the warm spray of blood landed on Dawn's bare leg and painted Ash's jeans.

Rapidash's front legs instantly buckled, Ash, Dawn and Meowth were thrown over her leg. Ash and Dawn screamed, slamming into the ground while barely managing to avoid landing on their necks. Meowth landed confidently on his feet, hearing the ground crunch behind him with Dawn and Ash's landing.

Ash could hear Rapidash's yells of pain as he slowly got up, his body aching all over. Meowth stood over them, his eyes were slits and his claws were extended in full length. He was poised to strike; ready to lunge at anything that came and ready to protect them to the best of his ability.

When nothing but he sounds of Rapidash's cries could be heard, Ash made his way over to her. Ash could smell the blood from where he stood, turning pale from the sight of Rapidash's mutilated left hind leg. He froze, unsure of what to do in this kind of situation. Dawn's Lopunny was still recovering from Rapidash's earlier kicks and knocking it out to use Healing Wish could prove fatal to her.

"Ash! Summon Mr. Mime an yer Monferno!" Meowth screamed.

It took a few seconds for Ash to react, not sure why he was summoning those two Pokemon at the moment, but he didn't question the orders he was given, yelling the command into the Pokeglov. Upon appearing, the Pokemon seemed to know exactly what they needed to do without a single word being uttered from Ash. Mr. Mime's hands glowed, outlining Rapidash's wounded leg while Monferno stood back and watched.

Several small fragments were pulled out of Rapidash's leg as Mr. Mime moved his hands upwards. Once the pieces were out of Rapidash's leg, Monferno proceeded to breathe flames over the bleeding wounds. Rapidash did not scream in pain as the wound was cauterized, her flash fire ability aiding in healing her wounds instead.

The matter was over in a little over a few seconds, Rapidash resting on the ground for a while before Mr. Mime lifted her and placed her on her hooves. She kicked here hind leg to test how well it healed. The movements did not cause her any sort of pain, which came as a relief to Ash and Dawn.

"Wat da hell was dat?" Meowth said angrily towards Ash.

Ash looked back at him, still somewhat shocked at what just happened. He knew full well that Meowth was not referring to how Rapidash had been attacked; it was at his response and reaction to it.

"I…I'm sorry Meowth. I just…I froze up, my mind went blank there. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't thinking and I'm sorry" Ash apologized.

"Yeah? Well if ya jus stared at her for a little longer, Rapidash woulda died. Ya can't jus do dat anymore; lives are at stake. I taught by now ya woulda been used ta dis" Meowth yelled.

"Meowth, lay off him a little will ya. It was an honest mistake. I froze up just like him; I didn't know what to do either, so I'm no better. If you're gonna yell at him for that, you're gonna have to yell at me too" Dawn defended.

"No…Dawn, he's right. I'm at fault. If it weren't for Meowth, we would've lost Rapidash. I don't have an excuse" Ash replied.

"It was a human mistake" Dawn added.

"Yeah…a _human_ mistake" Meowth mumbled.

Ash and Dawn looked at him, Meowth suddenly realizing what he had said and casting a sour look down at the ground.

"Sorry bout dat. I-"

"It's okay Meowth. Let's go check out what that was," Ash said, trying to take charge once more and make up for his hesitation.

Dawn began to follow him into the bushes but Ash turned towards her, "Dawn, wait here, don't follow me" Ash practically ordered.

Dawn was about to argue when Ash cut her off, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. Mr. Mime will be with me" Ash assured her, looking towards Mr. Mime who nodded happily.

Dawn's cheeks puffed frustrated as she stayed where she stood and watched Ash head over to the area where the attack had come from.

"You saying that just makes me more worried" Dawn mumbled.

Mr. Mime used Substitute and went before Ash into the bushes. Ash looked down and saw that a very thin wire was on the floor; it went across the entire road.

When he followed the trail, he saw that it was burning at both ends and was severed down the middle of the road. Mr. Mime called out to alert Ash that he had found something and that it was safe to come over where he was. What Ash saw when he ran over to stand by Mr. Mime's side surprised him.

What had been attached to the other end of the string was a 12-gauge shotgun; the string had been run through a hole and tied to the trigger. It was a trap set for anyone that pulled on the string in any way, or in Rapidash's case, severed it. Only problem was, Ash had never seen or heard of a weapon like this before.

He had heard of what guns were, but other than that, Ash had no knowledge of weaponry due to his upbringing. Meowth knew exactly what it was, explaining to Ash and Dawn that it was a larger version of a gun. Meowth was surprised, seeing as guns were a rarity these days.

Acquiring one meant that you had hidden it well, or paid the top dollar on the black market to acquire it. Meowth wondered whether or not taking it would be in their best interest. He checked the gun for ammo since he was the only one that knew how to do it, not surprised to see that there wasn't any. Ammo was scarcer than the guns themselves.

With nothing to fire, although in prime condition, the gun would only be extra weight that they wouldn't need. Mr. Mime began to lead the way while Ash and Dawn walked beside Rapidash where Monferno and Meowth rode on. In only a couple of minutes, they reached the gate that lead to the actual Safari Zone, a small shack before it that held the essentials for catching inside, such as fishing rods and Safari balls.

Ash recalled that was the first time in his life that he'd had a gun pointed at his face. Meowth remembered the place as well, finding it hard to believe that anyone could forget a place they had been shot at with a gun. He realized now that there was a good chance that the old man had set up the trap himself for protection.

"Dat old man mus be pretty well protected" Meowth murmured to no one in particular.

"He may have medical supplies and food that he might be willing to share" Dawn reminded.

"If we bring him with us, he'll just add to our defenses and he knows the land better than any of us" Ash pointed out. Mr. Mime's substitute made his way towards the entrance of the shack, the real one stood behind Ash, his eyes were closed but purple glows escaped his lids as he could see everything that his substitute saw.

Ash, Meowth, and Dawn entered behind Mr. Mime, Rapidash and Monferno staying behind to guard the entrance. Mr. Mime peeked around, seeing no people behind the counter. Several framed photos hung from the walls, most of them were now cracked. The others entered as well, Ash and Dawn calling out to see if anyone was home.

Mr. Mime went ahead and ventured into the next room while Dawn and Ash called out. A loud bang made Ash, Dawn, and even Meowth flinch, Mr. Mime's body crumpling into a heap on the ground while what was left of his head splattered onto the walls across the room.

Dawn instinctively screamed; a rush of footsteps sounded from where the shot came from. Ash ran at Dawn, almost tackling her down to the ground while watching Mr. Mime's substitute body and blood dissolving into thin air, remembering that his real Mr. Mime was outside.

Ash gasped when he saw an old man appear at the doorway to the next room, holding a revolver in each hand. The hair on Meowth's body stood on end, Meowth's eyes now slits and his claws fully extended again. At the sound of Ash's gasp, the old man fired his gun at Ash's head.

Meowth barely had time to react, jumping in front of the shot, the bullet hitting him in the head and knocking his body outside of the shack through the open door. Ash turned his head to see Meowth's body motionless on the ground. So many things were going through Ash's mind then.

"_He's dead. Meowth's dead! It can't be! He died for me! How am I gonna explain this to Jessie and James? Why? Why did he kill them? Wait! It's…it's because they're Pokemon! He's been surviving against the wild Pokemon of this place; he doesn't know that they're not wild!_"

Smoke drizzled out of the end of the gun's barrel, the old man maintaining his aim on Ash's head. Ash shielded Dawn's body with his own, she was curled up into a little ball and shivering against him. The old man's solemn expression hadn't changed at all, even after two headshots.

The old man pulled the trigger emotionlessly, Ash refusing to move since it would mean Dawn being shot instead. Ash winced reflexively, hearing the shot but opened his eyes after a second when he saw that there was no pain. Upon looking up, he saw barrier standing between him and the old man.

The old man's expression became quizzical before fining another round at them. Dawn shuddered after every blow, Ash winced from the sound and the flash that came from each shot, but no matter how many times the old man fired, the bullets couldn't even make a crack in Mr. Mime's barrier.

Ash looked to see that Mr. Mime had created a barrier in front of them from outside the hut. What shocked him even more was the fact that Meowth was now standing on both of his hind legs. The golden charm on his forehead had a tiny scratch on it. A small ray of light filtered down from the hole in the ceiling where the bullet ricocheted off of Meowth's charm.

Ash's eyes momentarily wandered off to the side, seeing a picture of a man beside a Dratini. The old man's name suddenly coming back to Ash, hoping that by hearing it from a person's mouth, it would bring him back to his senses.

"Kaiza!" Ash yelled.

It was now Kaiza's turn to flinch; he had become unaccustomed to hearing his own name during his three weeks of solitude.

"Kaiza, it's me! Ash! Remember? I was the trainer that-" Ash never got to finish explaining. Kaiza began firing his other revolver, until it too was out of ammo and frantically clicking.

"Trainers! TRAINERS! I won't let you. I won't let you take Dragonair! You won't lay a hand on her. She's gone! She's gone. Everything went crazy. They won't take me. She's mine! You know now, I can't let you live!" Kaiza screamed at the top of his lungs, running off into the room he had taken residence before.

Ash slowly got up and pulled the frozen Dawn outside of the house, Mr. Mime making another Substitute to guard the door. Mr. Mime was preparing to enter, his hands glowing until Ash called out to him.

"Mr. Mime, wait! Don't go in; don't kill him. I think I can get through to him. He's just a little crazy. I probably would be if I were all alone, who knows what he's survived through" Ash said, convincing Mr. Mime to lower his arm.

Monferno hopped off Rapidash, running over to Ash until Ash held up his hand.

"Wait Monferno, stay here. If anything I want all of you to stay here, I want to avoid any more casualties. We've been lucky with Meowth and Mr. Mime, but I don't want to keep testing the limits of that luck. I'm gonna try and remind him who I am. I saved him once and reunited him with a Dragonair he befriended. He's old, he might not remember too well at first, but I've got to remind him" Ash explained, making his way to the door.

Ash felt something tug at his shirt, knowing full well whose hand it belonged to. He turned around to see Dawn's concerned expression, replying with a warm smile.

"I'll be fine Dawn, Besides, I'll have Mr. Mime with me, and I've seen his barriers take a point-blank blast from a tank. I need to save him, I met him from before and I can't stand to see him like this. Just don't worry" Ash consoled.

"You saying that makes me more worried" Dawn said shakily, giving a curt smile at the role reversal, Ash returning the favor.

Dawn reluctantly loosened her grip on the section of his shirt, letting her arm drop limply at her side. She nodded, the worry on her face was conveyed so strongly, Ash could've sworn it was tangible. He turned around, making his way up the stairs of the shack. Ash could hear Kaiza's voice whisper loudly at someone, Ash eventually figuring it out that he was talking to himself.

"They're not going to get me, they're not going to get me, they're not going to get me, they're not going to get me. When they come, I'll kill them with my Thunderbolt, yes. Yes. YES! That's what I'll do. They won't kill me here, no. No they won't! I'll kill them before they do. They'll die. All die. She's gone! She's gone. She's gone! Why?" Kaiza rambled while kissing his revolver's barrel with the words 'Thunderbolt' engraved on them.

"Kaiza, it's me! Ash! Remember? I came here a few years ago, I came to the Safari Zone to catch some Pokemon and-"

Another bullet pinged off Mr. Mime's barrier, bouncing off the wooden panel floor with the rounded section now flattened. Ash's heartbeat skyrocketed; the sound of a gun firing was still new to him. Outside, Dawn wrung the edge of her skirt, remembering to exhale.

"More barriers" Ash whispered an order to Mr. Mime's substitute, complying immediately.

With every footstep, another pullet punched through one of the walls, Ash noticed that now that the amount of bullet holes in the walls rivaled the amount of stars in the night sky.

"Kaiza, remember? I saved you. Dragonair saved me" Ash began to list.

"GONE! She's gone…she left. Why? She went crazy; they all went crazy. I killed them; I've killed them. So many…so many" Kaiza rambled crazily.

"Kaiza…it's okay. I've killed too; we had to do it to survive. I understand, everything's going to be okay" Ash desperately tried to calm the old man by finding the similarities between themselves, but finding it hard to keep his own voice from cracking due to the fear.

"Ash…Ash…" Kaiza began to say, as if beginning to remember.

"Yes Kaiza, remember? Ash…"

"Ash…was a trainer! A TRAINER!" Kaiza screamed, firing a salvo of bullets through the walls. Ash jumped back, forgetting that the barriers that Mr. Mime had set up blocked the bullets.

"Kaiza…put the gun down, please. Let's just talk like normal. I'm not gonna hurt you, nobody's gonna hurt you" Ash reassured.

"You want Dragonair, like all the others, all the other trainers. I'll kill you, you won't lay a finger on her, and you won't look at her. She's not here; go away! You're…you're a Pokemon! That's what you are! You're probably wearing his skin you bastard…you bastard little monsters. I'll kill you. Just like all the other little monsters" Kaiza began saying through sobs.

"Kaiza, I don't want Dragonair. I want to help you" Ash said, slowly feeling that helping Kaiza was now impossible. Ash heard a different type of clicking; Meowth could tell from outside that the old man was readying his shotgun. A flash stunned Ash, Kaiza shooting with his shotgun, pumping round after round at Ash, empty bullet casings flying off to the side.

Ash didn't let himself get overconfident at the fact that he was untouchable to bullets at that moment. Anything could happen and make the barriers shatter, getting cocky would only get him hurt or killed; staying on his toes would keep him alive. The barrier that shielded him was far enough away from the door to allow him to enter the next room. Or to let Kaiza out.

Kaiza let out a war cry, rushing over to Ash, slamming the butt of the shotgun into the barrier. He reaimed the shotgun, firing at the barrier point blank, Ash wondering if the barrier would hold at that distance as he ran away. With a loud bang and a bright flash, the shot went off, the bullet shrapnel falling to the ground.

Ash tripped, Mr. Mime standing over him with his hand raised, Kaiza's body lifted into the air.

"Mr. Mime! Wait! Don't kill him!" Ash ordered; Mr. Mime begrudgingly began to put Kaiza down. Kaiza fired another round at Mr. Mime, Mr. Mime had his other hand lifted to psychically stop the bullets, but they were too fast to stop, the shrapnel shredding through the substitute.

Kaiza dropped out of the air, the jolt from his landing made him fire once more. The wooden flooring before Ash leading outside of the shack exploded into splinters, Ash pushing himself as far away as possible. Kaiza tumbled over, one of his revolvers slipping out of its holster and sliding across the ground.

Old age had now made it impossible for Kaiza to get himself back up, he resolved to pushing himself along the ground with his good leg. Ash was pressed against the side of the counter, Kaiza residing on the other side. The far end of the counter burst into debris and dust only a meter away from Ash's feet.

Within a few seconds, a second shot obliterated the next section, this time it was closer to Ash. Ash crawled away rapidly; the bullets shredded the sections of the counter he was pressed against only a few seconds ago. Eventually, Ash slammed himself into the corner of the room, his heart beating frantically and painfully against his ribs.

His breathing had been the most shallow he had ever felt it be, every muscle in his body willed him to move so to survive. For some reason, the concept of a gun firing at him frightened him more than any wild Pokemon that he had encountered, excluding the giant Dragonite.

There was nowhere else for Ash to go, in the next few seconds Kaiza would fire again. Ash had tried screaming for help from the others, but his voice had been drowned by the gunshots. Mr. Mime had made another substitute but was cautious to enter; the slightest graze of the bullet would erase his substitute, which was something that he could not afford to lose and do again.

Ash heard the shotgun click empty, followed by a loud swear from Kaiza. The empty click becoming the most beautiful sound that Ash had ever heard. Before Ash knew it, his body moved for him, making him feel like his body was no longer his own as it got up and jumped over the counter over to Kaiza's side. Ash's feet landed beside Kaiza's stomach, Kaiza threw the empty shotgun as hard as he could at Ash.

Ash barely dodged it, falling backwards as it missed his chin and hit the ceiling. Kaiza pulled out his other revolver, firing randomly all around the house, one of the bullets deflecting off Ash's Pokeglov, leaving a dent in it.

Eventually, Kaiza aimed at Ash who had fallen over and landed on his rear. Kaiza had pushed himself up against the wall like Ash had, his shaky revolver aimed at Ash's skull. Ash froze, knowing that if he moved, Kaiza would fire, and with such little distance between them, he wouldn't miss.

Tears overflowed Kaiza's wrinkled cheeks, his mouth twisted in anger and sadness, choking back sobs as he aimed at Ash. Kaiza began to ramble and babble incoherently; the few words that Ash managed to capture made no sense. There was nothing that Ash could say to calm him down.

He wouldn't know where to start, afraid that if he interrupted Kaiza, he would be shot for that as well. It finally began to sink in that he was dealing with someone that had lost his sanity completely, past the point of no return. Ash didn't want to accept that he couldn't save Kaiza, but now he was finding it harder to deny it.

Without warning, the gun was knocked out of Kaiza's hands, two bloody holes blossoming on Kaiza's palms. Kaiza hollered in pain, Ash still trying to let it sink in that the gunshot he heard had not signaled his death. He felt no pain, the bullet had not hit him, it was when Kaiza's gun hit the ground that Ash finally snapped out of his trance.

Standing over the counter, shaking with fear was Dawn, holding one of Kaiza's guns. Blood poured from Kaiza's hands, the sight of it made Ash and Dawn go pale. Ash's hand slid across the floor, bumping into the cold surface of the gun that had been shot out of Kaiza's hands.

Dawn lowered the gun before crouching and trying to cover her ears while still holding the gun. Unlike Dawn, Ash didn't bother to try and block out the sounds of Kaiza's screams. Ash could hear Dawn begin to sob as well from the other side of the counter.

After what seemed like an eternity, Kaiza began to quiet down from the blood loss. It was then that Ash looked at Kaiza and couldn't help but pity him, imagining the dozens of sleepless nights that the old man spent paranoid that the Pokemon were out to get him.

The solitude and the constant assaults, killing the very creatures that he was set to watch over. One of his only friends leaving him in a time where it seemed like the whole world was going to hell, his life falling apart and its pieces like sand in his fingers. Old age possible giving him memory loss. Ash wondered if his own sanity would've held had he been in Kaiza's shoes.

Kaiza made no sign of noticing Ash's movement, now standing over him. Ash held the gun in his hand, holding it so tight that his knuckles were white. The handle was still warm from Kaiza's touch, but the rest of the gun felt as cold as ice. Ash lifted the gun and pressed it against Kaiza's temple.

Kaiza flinched but said nothing, too exhausted to keep sobbing. Ash closed his eyes, stepping back a few feet. This would be the second time that he would be responsible for the life of another person.

Before, he had worried about what his mother would've thought and said had she found out at what she had done. Now he knew it didn't matter, but he still found it hard to pull the trigger.

He wanted to end the old man's suffering, and all it would take was the single flex of a finger, yet it difficult to go through with. For so long he had wanted a weapon of his own to fight against Pokemon like what Sabrina and Samurai did. Now he had one in his hands.

"I'm sorry" Ash whispered, pulling the trigger before Kaiza could answer.

Not that he would've.

A warm spray of blood landed on Ash, the sensation chilling him to the bone and making him feel sick. He closed his eyes, hearing the subtle sound of Kaiza's body sliding across the wall and falling in a crumpled heap on the ground.

Blood trailed from the bullet wound in the back of Kaiza's head, arching from where he sat to all the way down to where he lied. Ash let his arm drop, his fingers releasing the gun and letting it clatter on the floor, empty of all its bullets now that Ash had fired the last one.

Dawn rose up from behind the counter, shocked to see Ash covered in a thin layer of blood, gazing over to where the old man had been and gasping at the sight of the old man's brains splattered all over the wall, painting it red with a bullet hole through it and fragments of his skull.

Ash began to take deep breaths, feeling disgusted with himself.

He had wanted a weapon, but now he knew that a gun wasn't the one he was looking for.

* * *

The next several hours were spent looting Kaiza's cache of supplies. Meowth had them take every firearm they could get their hands on. Ash resisted at first, but Meowth told Ash that he wouldn't have to use the guns if he didn't want to. All he would need to do was hold onto it until they could give it to someone that did want to use it like Surge who had more training with guns than any of them.

Meowth was astounded by the amount of ammo and guns that the old man had salvaged. When Ash asked why Meowth himself didn't use the guns, Meowth replied that he knew about guns, but couldn't use them due to his lack of thumbs and that his claws could accidentally cut through the trigger.

Meowth quickly sensed that Ash now hated guns, but even after trying to convince him that by using them they would make their future battles shorter, faster, and much easier with fewer casualties on their side, Ash refused to accept guns as part of his personal repertoire.

The gun made it so easy to snuff the life out of any living thing Ash aimed it at. He did not enjoy being the judge of someone's life for the second time. Ash felt that he was now one step closer to figuring out what way he would be able to help the others in with regards to fighting, eliminating guns as one of his options.

Ash wanted something that he would have to train his body for, like Samurai, Surge, and Tracy had. Something dealing with close combat or similar, but fighting a Pokemon hand to hand seemed ludicrous and suicidal. One day, Ash hoped, he would find the answer he was looking for, but until then he would have to rely solely on the strength of his Pokemon.

Before them left, Ash insisted on giving Kaiza a burial of some sort. Meowth and Dawn didn't fully comprehend why, but they let Ash do whatever he felt was necessary to give him peace, considering he once knew the man that he had just killed. Mr. Mime obediently did as Ash asked, remembering the last time he was asked to lift a body for a burial back at the Pokemon academy.

* * *

After a few minutes and using the maps of the area that Kaiza had at hand, they found the hidden spring that the Dragonair Kaiza befriended once took residence in. As they approached, water Pokemon there rose out of the water. They appeared hostile at first, seeing Kaiza's dead body floating towards them.

Kaiza hadn't eaten in days, his skin tight on his protruding ribs, his body literally skin and bones to such an extent it was disturbing. Meowth marveled at the fact that the old man had even been able to stand, let alone fight them in his malnutritioned condition.

Mr. Mime gently placed Kaiza's body into the water for Ash's sake, watching it sink beneath the dark waters of the spring filled with crystal structures the decorated the cave like walls that surrounded it and jutted out of the water. The water Pokemon glared angrily at Ash and the others, but didn't attack.

They attentions shifted back and forth between Kaiza's sinking body and the humans that had brought him to them. Memories of when Kaiza checked up on them to make sure that they were safe from the trainers fought against the instincts that told them to feast on the food that was right before them. The water Pokemon disappeared under the veil of water, the waters becoming as still as glass. As Ash and the others began to leave, Ash could swear he heard the waters behind him begin to bubble with activity, but he forced himself not to look back.

* * *

Ash, Dawn, and Meowth mounted Rapidash once more, Ash worried whether the extra weight would be a bother to Rapidash, but she showed no signs of discomfort. A sub machine gun was strapped to Ash's thigh, a strap wrapped around Dawn's shoulder and over her back, holding a fully loaded shotgun. Ash decided to hold onto Kaiza's prized revolver, the Thunderbolt.

He planned to give it to Surge, but until he found his friend that was also the source of Thunderbolts, he would hold onto the gun. It was unique to all the other revolvers that Kaiza had in his arsenal. Kaiza had modified it to make it better in speed and strength than all the others he owned.

Dawn had the remaining firearms on a holster belt that she had decided to adopt, having a Magnum and 9mm pistol. Ash had a strap looped over his back as well, holding a 50-caliber sniper rifle with a scope. They had attached several ammo boxes to Rapidash's saddle, enough to last them for a very long time.

Ash gave one last look at the shack peppered with holes, Rapidash burst forward, sending a spray of dirt behind them with only a crater to mark their departure.

* * *

**1 day before the fight with Kaiza and several hundred miles ahead.**

Surge, AJ, and Tracy fell from the ceiling, landing on top of each other in an uncomfortable heap. Their breaths were ragged, their hearts still pumping blood frantically through their veins from their recent fight against the Muks. Slowly, they crawled off each other, surprised to see that the ground beneath them was not the same as the building they were in just a few seconds earlier.

They all looked around, surprised that their surroundings were different but became aware that their situation had not changed at all. Surge pulled out his knife, looking around before joining AJ in dismay when Raichu and Sandslash were nowhere to be seen.

Surrounding them were dozens of Electivires and Scythers, their angry stares all directed at one individual in the group: Tracy. Or to be more specific, what was on Tracy's arm. The bright and glossy crimson of the Pokeglov infuriated the Pokemon around them, giving into their instinct and letting themselves become guided by rage as they attacked all at once.

* * *

**Next, Chapter 6: On the Double**


	6. On the Double

Samurai reacted quickly, slapping the gun upwards with the flat side of his blade. The bullet meant for James' brain flew over his head and punctured the wall. Before the person could retaliate, Samurai slammed the hilt of his sword into their attacker's head. The blow had managed to make a dent in the iron helmet; the fighter backed away and aimed the gun at Samurai.

Samurai merely stood before the attacker; there was no need for him to dodge because he had already attacked. The attacker was about to pull the trigger when the upper part of the gun suddenly slid off, leaving only the handle and trigger in her hand. James gawked at Samurai's strength and speed; he had attacked so quickly no one had been able to keep up with his movements.

The severed part of the gun clattered on the ground, staying solid for a few seconds before liquefying into a puddle of pink goop. The gun handle in the attacker's hand did the same, but then began to stretch and change it shape. It grew gelatinously, changing color and shape until it became an exact replica of Samurai's katana.

Not only was it a perfect copy of Samurai's sword, but its transformation did not end there. The sharp edge of the sword suddenly became serrated and began to go around the full length of the sword. It was now part katana and part chainsaw, the sound of a chainsaw revving up made everyone feel uncomfortable. Samurai's eyes widened, now beginning to worry about what kind of opponent he was fighting.

Samurai charged forward, reminding himself that although his opponent had a better weapon, that did not mean that they were more skilled than he was. Steel met steel; sparks erupted from the friction and threatened to blind both combatants. Samurai worried for his sword, wondering how much his sword would be damaged.

A flash of light illuminated the dimly lit room, a loud roar made the entire room quake. Samurai pushed himself away from his opponent, sliding back until he was a foot away from the fallen James. Their attacker looked to the right to see an angry Gyarados, the strength from the attacker's body feeling drained from intimidation.

Gyarados was actually exhausted from the battle it had only a few minutes ago with against the Muks. It had put all of its energy into a single Hyper Beam, not to mention it was completely out of water attacks. The most it could do was roar and look menacing, doing its best to not appear tired.

"Look, we're sorry that we're in your home, but this is all a big misunderstanding. Can we at least talk about this?" Misty said, standing before her Gyarados, knowing full well that it couldn't attack, but having its presence by her gave her words more authority.

"Misty? Is that really you?" their attacker asked, surprising everyone in the room. The iron helmet their attacker wore began to move like it was made of putty, peeling away and fusing into the rest of the armor so to reveal their attacker's face. Once again, Samurai was caught completely off guard once more, not expecting to see two green pigtails, hazel eyes, and pink hair bands.

"Duplica?" Misty cried out, returning her Gyarados by just pointing her thumb at it.

Samurai lowered his weapon, seeing as Misty knew the person they were seeing. Duplica dropped the chainsaw katana she was holding, Samurai watched as it turned into pink goop before it even touched the ground. The previous puddle of pink goop oozed over to its twin that had now splattered onto the ground. They fused together, taking the shape that Jessie, James, and Misty all knew as Ditto.

The armor that Duplica wore also peeled off her, revealing a red T-shirt with a large yellow star on it and yellow linings along the collar and sleeves. She had also fashioned a pair of jeans with a silver belt and auburn colored shoes. What was once Duplica's armor was now pink and gelatinous, forming into another Ditto.

"It's been such a long time since I've seen you, let alone everyone" Duplica said with a sigh of relief after taking a good look at Misty.

"It's so nice to see you again, I so happy that you're alive. I'm surprised that you even remember me" Misty smiled warmly.

"I never forget anyone that I imitate, I also happen to have a photographic memory. Which is why I haven't forgotten these guys" Duplica glared angrily at Jessie and James.

"Duplica, don't worry about them. They're no longer part of Team Rocket, they've joined us" Misty explained.

Duplica was skeptical at first, eyeing them analytically for a moment before speaking once more.

"I guess I'll take your word for it, I also notice that they're not wearing their Team Rocket uniforms. If you wouldn't mind, I want to do a very short test just to be completely sure" Duplica said.

"What kind of test?" Misty said warily.

"Don't worry, it isn't painful or anything, I just need their permission" Duplica elaborated.

Misty stared at Jessie and James, they both nodded.

"You heard them Ditto, do the one with the blue hair" Duplica ordered.

One of the Dittos slid over to James, touching his bare ankle for only an instant before sliding back to Duplica's presence. It took only a few seconds for Ditto to begin transforming, stretching and gelatinously growing taller, thicker, and wider. Ditto now loomed over Duplica, forming details and features. Samurai wondered how many times he would be astounded today alone, seeing as now Duplica's Ditto had now transformed into James.

"All your answers must be completely honest, okay?" Duplica commanded.

The Ditto-James nodded.

"Are you no longer part of Team Rocket?" Duplica asked.

"Yes, a little before the first week of the Pokemon dampener removal we decided that it was time to cut our ties and any allegiance we had to the Team Rocket organization" the Ditto James replied.

"Do you have any intention to betray us in the future?" Duplica inquired.

"None whatsoever, all we want to do now is to be of use to the rest of the group and make up for all the trouble we have committed" the Ditto-James responded. Duplica was actually surprised at the response, looking back at the real James and Jessie.

"Well, I'm convinced. Okay Ditto turn back to-"

"Wait! Before that, I just want to let you know how sorry I, Jessie, and Meowth are. Normally we only wrong someone other than Ash and the others once, but we've wronged you twice. On behalf of all of us, we beg for your forgiveness" The Ditto-James said as he bowed.

"Woah…uh…sure. Yeah, I forgive you" Duplica accepted easily. The James clone reverted back into the squishy and rosy Ditto.

"What was the point of that?" Samurai asked, "Why couldn't you have asked James himself?"

"Because I told my Ditto not to lie, it would not. Also, after my Ditto made contact with James and transformed, it read his brainwaves. In other words, my Ditto can think and act perfectly like James as well as have all of his memories. If the real James were to die and my Ditto transformed into James, then it would be like he never left. The fact that the apology came from my Ditto made it all the more genuine" Duplica elaborated.

"I didn't know that Dittos could do that" Jessie commented.

"They don't. It was only a few weeks ago that Ditto and I learned about this" Duplica answered. Samurai inspected his sword, feeling irritation creep up behind him with the discovery of a notch on his katana where it met with Duplica's weapon. He sheathed it so he would no longer have to look at it and put his thoughts and worries on it away.

Duplica looked around, a puzzled expression appearing on her face.

"Where's Ashy boy and Brock?" Duplica asked.

The others suddenly noticed that the others were not with them in the room. It seemed as though the constant threats and revelations had made them forget about the others momentarily. Misty lifted her Pokeglov, opening the 3D map feature and seeing where everyone was.

"It looks like Sabrina separated all of us. It looks like Ash and Dawn are heading our way pretty quickly, Tracy's further up ahead, and past him is Brock. I don't know about the others though since they don't show up unless they're wearing a Pokeglov" Misty explained.

"Who's the closest?" Jessie asked.

"I think Ash and Dawn are, they're coming towards us. Dexter, how long will it take Ash and Misty to get to our position" Misty asked the Pokeglov, unsure if it could actually answer her question but guessing it was worth a shot.

"_At constant speed, arrival should be around 37 hours_" Dexter warbled.

"So should we just wait for them to come here?" James suggested.

"I think that would be for the best, it would give us time to rest" Samurai pointed out.

"Would that be alright with you, Duplica?" Misty inquired.

Duplica nodded, "Of course, you can stay here as long as you want. There's just one thing I want to know."

"What?" Misty asked.

"How did you guys get in here in the first place?"

"Have we got a story to tell you" James said warily.

* * *

Misty, Samurai, Jessie, and James managed to gather enough energy to tell of their latest escapade with the Muks and explained why and how they had entered Duplica's mansion. Once they finished they fell asleep where they sat, Duplica only imagining how stressful their endeavor must have been.

While they slept, Ditto briefly touched the others and followed Duplica into an empty and far away room where it transformed into James with everyone's memories. Duplica only listened from where they were when everything started. She focused more on the memories of the former rocket members, seeing as they interacted more with Ash and the others. She eventually saw how their paths converged, filled with amazement and horror at all the stories that had yet to tell her.

Their experiences also answered many questions about the world for her. She know knew what was going on in the world outside and what caused it all to happen, with the exception of what Pokemon it came from. The answer to where her parents were, or what happened to them had been answered by their encounter with Surge. The news brought tears to her eyes, but also some peace.

It took a grand total of six hours to filter through all the important parts of their experiences. Just as Ditto was beginning to reform to its original state, Duplica heard footsteps from outside the room, coming down the hallway. She exited the room to see whom it was, finding Samurai seemingly lost in her mansion. After seeing all that he had been through, Duplica couldn't help but see him in a different light. No longer was he the bizarre stranger wearing antique armor. He was the selfless and brave individual who had honed his skills and character from years of training and discipline.

"Can I help you?" Duplica offered courteously.

Samurai nodded, "If you could please direct me to the exit of this building."

"Are you planning to leave off without the others?" Duplica asked.

"No, I merely want to train outside" Samurai admitted, not telling her the whole truth of why he wanted to train.

"Oh sure. You sure you don't want to sleep some more?" Duplica suggested.

Samurai shook his head, "no, there is something that I must really attend to in my training. It has been bothering me since the moment we arrived here."

"Is there anything that I could do to help?" Duplica readily volunteered.

"Can you fight with a sword, or was our little dual merely a way to intimidate me?" Samurai inquired.

"I can mimic movements, but I don't think that I could keep up with your movements. I couldn't even tell when you cut my Ditto's gun form" Duplica confessed, "But I think I know the perfect sparring partner for you."

Samurai had been following Duplica blindly through the halls the mansion, unaware that once she had finished her sentence, they had already made it to the exit of the building. The grounds before the mansion were leveled green pastures, a perfect place to spar in Samurai's eyes.

"So where is this sparring partner you were talking about?" Samurai said, looking around the pasture but finding no one.

"Alright Ditto, give him a good workout" Duplica commanded.

Duplica's Ditto made its way to the center of the grassy field, transforming once more. At first, Samurai wasn't sure what the Ditto was transforming into; it was only after a few seconds that he felt stupid for not noticing sooner. Standing before him was an exact replica of himself.

"How difficult do you want your fight to be?" Duplica asked smugly.

"Try me" Samurai replied, feeling a small smile creep up on his lips. It would be the first time in years that he had fought someone with a sword. Not only would this person be skilled, this person would be an equal match. In a sense, Samurai would be able to see how powerful he himself was. The feeling of a worthy match was invigorating and got his adrenaline pumping.

"Okay Ditto, let's see how he deals with the Mirror style," Duplica ordered.

Ditto did not nod, but Duplica knew that Ditto had heard her and would comply. Everything was still, Duplica's gaze shifting back and forth between Samurai and his doppelganger.

"Ditto's ready whenever you are" Duplica added, trying to not sound impatient even though nothing had happened for five minutes.

Samurai said nothing; the past several minutes that seemed like they were doing nothing were actually him analyzing his opponent for openings. Yet, that was the entire problem. He couldn't find any openings, because it was like trying to find his own openings.

Samurai felt like he was staring into a mirror, his every breath and every blink were copied before his very eyes. There was only one thing that his copy wasn't mimicking. His eyes. The Ditto-Samurai was not bothering to analyze Samurai despite that it was under scrutiny.

"_I've been wasting my time. It's not even looking for my weaknesses, it's only trying to copy me_" Samurai thought before charging forward, rising his blade to strike. Both combatants charged at each other at the exact same time, Duplica leaned against the side of her mansion with a bemused smile across her face.

Both warriors stopped, each blade only inches from the other's throat: no more, no less. Samurai took a step back, his clone doing the same thing. He swung his blade forward, only to meet with his copy's katana. Samurai pushed against the other blade, feeling the exact same exertion from the other samurai. The instant he relaxed his muscles, the second samurai did the same.

"How is it doing that? Is it reading my mind? Can it tell from the slightest movement I make what I'm going to do?" both Samurai's said at the same time. Duplica was amused by the dual voices and by Samurai's reaction to it.

"The dampeners didn't just change how Ditto transforms, it made it so that Ditto is a perfect copy of whatever it transforms into. When I say perfect, I mean perfect. If I were to have it fight one on one with another Pokemon, then it would have the exact same stats, abilities, experience, memories, weaknessess, and fighting technique as that Pokemon" Duplica revealed.

Samurai suddenly felt that this battle would never end; there could be no victor. Their blades unlocked, both of them swinging to the other's side and stopping before they cut through their own waists. Samurai burst into a flurry of motion, moving so fast that he looked like he was enveloped in a silver cocoon, another silver cocoon directly adjacent to his. Samurai stopped, beginning to break a sweat while the Ditto-Samurai didn't look fazed.

"_So he doesn't even get tired_?" Samurai scoffed mentally, lifting his blade experimentally. He moved the blade closer and closer to his own arm, watching with interest at his mirror opponent, wondering how far the Ditto would go to mimic him. Samurai slashed his exposed arm, the wound wasn't deep but it still bled. When he looked at the wound on the Ditto-Samurai's arm he was partially surprised. The wound was not bleeding like his, but merely a pink gash that was slowly regenerating.

"Does it feel pain?" both Samurais asked.

"I don't think so; I think the dampeners made its pain receptors inactive, which makes it perfect against fighting Pokemon." Duplica unveiled.

Samurai now doubted more than ever that he could defeat such an opponent. He knew that he could give up, it wasn't like he needed a sparring partner before, and he had been training by himself since the beginning. Yet, the smug smile from Duplica's face seemed burned into his mind, strengthening his resolve to not give up.

Samurai stared past his doppelganger's shadow, turning around to see Duplica leaning against the wall. He turned and ran, heading towards the mansion at full speed, Duplica watching with interest, wondering if he was going to give up. The Ditto Samurai ran in the opposite direction but suddenly stopped.

Duplica turned her sights on Samurai, becoming amazed as she watched him scale the side of her mansion. Her Ditto stood still, unable to copy Samurai's movements seeing as there was nothing solid for it to scale as well. It turned around, confused on what to do next and seeking its master for guidance. Samurai jumped off the side of the mansion, turning his body and bringing his sword over his head.

"Ditto, switch to prime style" Duplica screamed, but it was too late, Samurai's blade cleaved his copy's head in two and curved it to sever the arm as well. Samurai landed with ease, sheathing his sword and smiling. He could help but feel filled with glee, wondering why he felt the need to show off in front of Duplica.

Duplica stood flabbergasted as her Ditto reformed back into Samurai's shape with both wounds now gone. She suddenly began to clap, Samurai turning in her direction and giving a bow, whether it was out of honor or to humor her for the applause, she didn't ask.

"That was impressive" Duplica said as she finished clapping.

"What's next on the menu?" Samurai replied.

"Don't get too full of yourself. Now the real challenge begins," Duplica warned.

"I wouldn't have it any other way" Samurai countered, licking his lips.

The Ditto Samurai surged forward, nearly catching Samurai off guard and barely raising his katana in time to block. The two of them fought furiously, Samurai feeling more adrenaline pumping through his veins, knowing that this training could mean life or death. He had no way of knowing how far Duplica's Ditto would go to win or stop before the kill. As far as he knew, he had not heard Duplica give Ditto any order regarding when to stop, but Samurai did not want to test what were its limits.

Their battle continued for several minutes, Samurai was barely holding his own against an opponent that never tired, and every strike had the full force of being in prime condition. Samurai had yet to land a single wound on his copy, but neither had his double although it had been very close to while Samurai hadn't even been given a chance.

Their blades locked together for a few seconds before both of them pushed off each other's blades, making them slide several feet away from each other. The Ditto Samurai lifted its sword into the air, making no motion to approach Samurai. Samurai barely managed to dodge as the Ditto Samurai swung its sword through the air, the ground between them instantly trenching.

Duplica pushed herself off the side of the mansion, watching a tangible blade of air appear between her Ditto and Samurai, closing the distance. The vacuum that had formed was white and opaque in a crescent shape, the bottom edge dragging through the ground with ease. From the side, it was clearly visible, but from Samurai's point of view, it was rather difficult. The fact that he dodged when he did was a miracle in Duplica's eyes, unaware that Samurai's senses and instinct told him to move.

"Ditto stop!" Duplica screamed.

Ditto's movements ceased instantly, Samurai stabbed his blade into the ground and used it as a temporary cane, placing all of his weight on it and panting. He stared incredulously at his opponent after the attack it had just launched at him.

"Ditto, I told you to use the prime style! Why did you use a Pokemon move?" Duplica chastised.

Ditto shook its head, "I didn't use a Pokemon move, the move I used was one that the human you made me fight is capable of using" Ditto replied in Samurai's voice. Duplica turned and gawked in Samurai's direction, finding it hard to grasp that Samurai was actually capable of doing an attack of that sort.

Samurai heard what the Ditto said, finding it hard to believe it himself. Technically, it was physically possible to do, but he thought it would require inhuman abilities to pull off. If the Ditto was able to pull off a move like that under the parameters of being human, then that meant that Samurai could do it as well. Samurai got up, heading over to Duplica who had now turned towards him.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think that Ditto would do that. You could've gotten really hurt; you could've died! Can…can you really do that kind of attack? You heard what Ditto said right?" Duplica asked. Samurai recalled that he had done something similar back at their fight against the Muks; Sabrina had even shown him.

Samurai nodded, "Yes, I believe that I am capable of doing that. I've just started to learn it. For today, I think that I'm done training" Samurai said as he sheathed his katana.

"That's understandable" Duplica agreed, looking over to Ditto who returned to its original pink state. The both of them headed back inside, Duplica admiring Samurai more than she had done before. When they came to the area where everyone had been asleep, they were surprised to see Jessie making a meal, James waiting at the table, looking through his remaining bottle caps, and Misty missing.

"Are you hungry for anything in particular, Duplica? Samurai?" Jessie offered and was politely turned down by the both of them.

"Where's Misty?" Duplica asked.

"She went to fix up the room we trashed when we teleported in" James answered, his eyes never leaving his bottle caps.

Duplica left without a word, Samurai following behind her through the long hallways in the mansion. They eventually reached the room they had first appeared in, as James had said, Misty was crouched over and trying to make organized the mess they had made upon their arrival.

Duplica called out to Misty, the sudden noise making her jump and look in there direction.

"You almost gave me a heart attack" Misty sighed.

"Sorry about that, did you just start?" Duplica inquired.

"Yeah, I was gonna fix the damage we had done" Misty explained, motioning towards the literal mountains of clothing that Duplica used to imitate other people.

"Don't bother, I don't need those clothes anymore to imitate people" Duplica said.

"Really?" Misty replied, dropping a shirt that she had found.

"Yeah, I found an easier way" Duplica explained, snapping her fingers and her Ditto leaping onto her and latching on. Ditto began to stretch and grow, covering her entire body. In seconds it transformed and became the very same outfit that Misty was wearing.

"After My Ditto makes contact with something, it will remember it and be able to transform into it from memory. I've already had My Ditto scan all those clothes, so you don't need to organize them because I'll never need to wear them since Ditto can easily become them" Duplica elaborated, demonstrating more by having her outfit become Samurai's armor, then the Team Rocket outfit, and then Ash's old outfit.

"What about with Pokemon?" Misty reminded.

"Ditto, become Bulbasaur" Duplica ordered.

The pink puddle reformed, turning into a Bulbasaur.

"This was Ash's Bulbasaur four years ago, stat and skill-wise. Ditto can transform into any Pokemon that it's transformed into in the past without having to touch or see it again. As long as the mass isn't too radically different, then my Ditto can transform into it" Duplica clarified.

"How many Pokemon can Ditto become from memory?" Samurai asked.

"I don't know. There's probably hundreds that Ditto's transformed into, I don't even know them all" Duplica confessed.

"Is there anything that Ditto can't transform into?" Misty pointed out.

"Actually, there is. That thing on your arm is like a mini-computer, well Ditto can take its shape, but it can't do the functions of anything electronic, only organic" Duplica answered.

"Can Ditto be killed? I slashed it with sword in ways that nothing could've survived" Samurai remarked.

"Ditto isn't affected by physical blows like cuts or punches, but it's extremely susceptible to anything that chemically changes it, like changes in temperature, such as fire, ice, and lightning" Duplica revealed.

"What if Ditto became a Pokemon that isn't affected by those elements?" Samurai countered.

"Then, Ditto would be open to the weaknesses of that element. Ditto's pretty strong, but it's not immortal" Duplica pointed out.

Duplica's Ditto transformed back from Bulbasaur, Duplica's second Ditto appearing.

"Misty already knows this, but this is my second Ditto, who can only transform into small things or tiny replicas of Pokemon. I usually don't have this Ditto become a Pokemon; I just let it morph into an accessory, like clothing or a weapon" Duplica demonstrated by having the Mini Ditto turn into the chainsaw version of Samurai's Katana.

"I think it would be best of Duplica's Ditto could transform into all of our Pokemon" Misty suggested.

Duplica nodded, letting her Dittos get to work. There would still be several hours between them and Ash's arrival to their area; they would have to find some way to kill time.


	7. Blind

Pikachu took the lead, Raichu from behind, Brock in between, and Sandslash from below Brock. Raichu and Pikachu began to rotate around Brock, switching positions and making a full circle. Their heads swiveled from side to side; making sure that nothing from any direction could attack them.

Not only was Brock perfectly situated between all of them to be safe, he was also in between them to keep them from fighting each other again. Brock's eyebrow twitched, he ironically felt like he was babysitting a group of children that were protecting him and could easily kill him on a whim.

* * *

A few hours earlier he had called his mother to make sure that they were okay, telling them the most recent thing that had happened to him and the rest of the group.

He tried to not get into too much specifics so not to worry his mother. As always, his father and all of his brothers and sisters fought to know what was happening from Brock himself, but talking to all of them would take forever. Tracy hadn't modified all of the Pokeglovs with the ability that his had.

He knew that Tracy had only begun working on the modification for the others and that they hadn't extended to the capacity that his could. Brock had no way of contacting the others from so far away. When he rematerialized, he immediately looked at where he was on the map, utterly surprised by how far Sabrina had teleported him.

He had ended up being in between the paths of Ash, Dawn, the former Rockets, and Misty and Tracy. Brock had no way of knowing where those without Pokeglovs where, whether they were with one group or in an entirely different place all together. To make matters worse, Sandslash and Raichu were determined to go towards Tracy's direction, but Pikachu was determined to go where Ash and the others were.

Raichu and Sandslash insisted that they could detect the faint scent of their trainers in the direction of Tracy's location. Brock didn't want either of them to go off on their own in search for someone who might not even be there, regardless of their strength. Brock attempted to compromise, deciding that it would be better if they waited for Ash's group to meet up with them until they went and searched for Tracy.

No one was happy about the suggestion, wanting to be with their partners as soon as possible. Pikachu decided to go along with Brock's suggestion; Sandslash and Raichu were not so easily worn down. When they tried to leave, Pikachu got in their way. Raichu decided to stun Pikachu with a small Thunderbolt, twin lances of lightning converged into a single electrical spear that burst forward at Pikachu.

Pikachu Deflected it with his arm as if he were swatting the air, the bolt stabbing into a tree to Pikachu's side, making it explode into splinters and setting it on fire. Brock reacted quickly to put the fire out, but neither Sandslash nor Raichu moved, their full attention now on Pikachu.

Raichu fired a stronger blast this time, for the sake of not having the forest burn down, Pikachu smacked the bolt towards the ground. The earth flashed for a brief second, blinding anything that was looking in its direction. Raichu's body began to steam, the rising hot air ascending into the clouds. The clouds above darkened, a single bolt plummeted from it and struck Raichu.

Raichu absorbed the lightning bolt, redirecting all of its energy at Pikachu who never moved from his spot. The bolt tore up the ground like a dragon of lightning, charring the earth it devoured in its thunderous maw, leaving a trench that spanned several meters. Standing amidst the blackened trail was the yellow figure of Pikachu.

Raichu lunged at Pikachu, aiming his head for a Skull Bash. Pikachu lifted his hand into the air, slamming into Raichu's head, grabbing him by the fur, and shoving it into the ground. The ground crumbled instantly, Raichu's face being buried several inches into the dirt.

Raichu's tail thrusted at Pikachu's face, Pikachu's free paw seemingly plucking it out of the air with two fingers and holding there. No matter how much Raichu tried, he didn't have the strength to move his tail another millimeter forward as Sandslash stood before them, awestruck.

"_How? How is it that he's so powerful now? Where is he getting this power? I wouldn't have been able to take that Thunder attack from point-blank range, even if I'm an electric Pokemon. Now with the dampeners gone, the heat would've killed anything on the receiving end _" Sandslash wondered.

Pikachu was actually surprised by his own power, but didn't allow it to show. It only took a few seconds before he actually realized why he suddenly felt so much power coursing through his veins.

His most recent fight had been the one against the Muks; he had been teleported before it had connected with any of them. He could only assume that the second that after Sabrina had teleported out of the city herself, the lightning ignited the toxic air and destroyed everything in the city.

All of those combined Muks were technically defeated by his single move; all of that experience had gone to him in the end. He had killed every single Muk and obliterated an entire city. Pikachu couldn't help but feel the surplus of power begin to blind him.

Pikachu lifted Raichu's head out of the ground, still holding his tail with his tiny fingers. He let them go, spinning suddenly and slamming the flat side of his tail into Raichu's face. The force of the blow sent Raichu back, crashing into the bewildered Sandslash and taking him along for the ride. The both of them tumbled over the ground for a few feet, Brock watched in amazement and worry about what was going on before him.

* * *

Pikachu had been feeling inferior, starting after being beaten by Gary's Electivire. He and Ash had just finished defeating the frontier brains, only to be defeated by a Pokemon that had just been captured and hadn't received proper training like he had for so many years.

Once they had come to the Sinnoh region, he no longer felt that all those battles and years of training meant anything anymore; he now had the _average_ strength of a regular Sinnoh Pokemon. Now that he was just beginning to feel powerful there was something always holding him back.

They ran away from the Ariados in Dawn's hometown, when Pikachu could've easily killed them all, but needed to get to the ship to be with Ash so that they could find his mother. He had missed nearly the entire battle against the Fearows, something that he felt he could've defeated single handedly.

He couldn't attack the Beedrills within the super hive because they would overwhelm Ash and the others that had become liabilities, weak links that needed to be protected. As long as Ash and the others were around, Pikachu could never go full strength so that he wouldn't damage the surroundings or hurt the ones around him.

Due to Tracy's plan in Misty's gym, he was under the constraints of using one single move that required him to pour all of his power into a single shot, otherwise the Zubats and Golbats would escape. Pikachu would've gladly gone into the caves himself and destroyed them all, but many would've escaped, reproduced, and come back. It wasn't a problem for him, but it was for Ash and the others.

The Kinglers had used Protect and stopped all of his moves, and to add insult to injury, he had hit the Giant Dragonite in the eye with a Thunder but it didn't even blink. So not to kill everyone, Pikachu couldn't immediately kill the Muks until the last second, depriving him of a battle that he had been starving for.

Now that he had gained so much experience and levels from killing hundreds, nearly thousands of Muks, and that he was now practically away from any humans in the vicinity with only wild Pokemon and his Pokemon rivals in the area, he no longer cared to hold back.

* * *

If Brock were smart, he would leave the area as fast as he could, Pikachu wouldn't directly aim for him, but if he was caught in the crossfire, then that was his fault. The same went for the wild Pokemon in the area, although if they died in the crossfire, unlike Brock, Pikachu would not care.

Pikachu had no intention of killing Raichu or Sandslash, only wanting to establish his dominance over them. Finally the moment had come that he would be able to unleash his pent up strength. He didn't care about what happened to the forest around them, he was tired of being held back, and all he wanted to see was the fear in the eyes of his rivals from his newfound strength.

Pikachu looked over to Brock, giving a malicious toothy smile as sparks danced off his cheeks. Brock couldn't believe what he was seeing, getting the message instantly but finding it hard to accept. The skin between Pikachu's cheeks and below his eyes had reddened. Brock became instantly reminded of the same look being on drunkards and the sick, Brock beginning to wonder which one of the two would explain Pikachu's actions.

Pikachu didn't care what Brock thought, as long as he got away from the area while he had his fun. Hopefully, if a bolt came near him, he would do what Ash did at Misty's gym and block it with the Pokeglov to reflect it.

Pikachu knew that there would be consequences later, and he would deal with them then, but now he didn't care. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that the power was blinding him, but he felt he deserved to let loose just a little. A cruel part of him took pleasure in seeing Brock scramble away from him. His sights turned on Raichu and Sandslash that were just beginning to get up.

"Have you gone mad?" Sandslash cried out.

Raichu immediately understood what was happening. Pikachu had become saturated with pent up electricity and power due to the massive level up by wiping out all those Muks at once. It reminded him of when his master had drunken too many beers, becoming aggressive and delirious.

"There isn't a human for miles? I just wanted to test out how strong I got. Brock will soon be out of the range of my attacks, I just wanted a friendly sparring match" Pikachu replied innocently.

Sandslash said nothing, glaring angrily at Pikachu.

"This isn't like you? What happened? What's wrong?"

"Oh what's wrong? Weren't you dying to test your strength against me, Sandslash? Or are you a scaredy Delcatty?" Pikachu goaded with a sinister grin.

Sandslash pounced at Pikachu, claws already reared back for an attack before Raichu could continue talking and make sense of the situation. Pikachu sent a blast of electricity at Sandslash while he was in mid-air. Sandslash dove for the ground, his claws piercing through the soft dirt as easily as if it were made of water.

The attack scorched the dirt where he had dug through, burning a trench several meters past it where Raichu had once been standing. Raichu had dodged the attack; amazed that Pikachu was fighting to kill. Pikachu instinctively jumped, a pair of claws stabbed out of the ground where Pikachu had been standing only moments ago.

Pikachu flipped through the air, sending a bolt of lightning down the hole that Sandslash had made, but he was already gone. The clang of metal let Raichu know that Pikachu was using Iron tail. Pikachu stabbed his tail into the ground, wondering if Sandslash was dumb enough to charge at him and impale himself with Pikachu's tail. The surrounding dirt began to swirl around Pikachu, encasing him in a tornado.

"_Looks like I underestimated him_" Pikachu smirked, sending a current along the swirling sand tornado surrounding him. The heat from the bolt made the sand melt together, turning it to glass.

"So predictable" Sandslash chuckled, bursting out of the ground and combining Gyro Ball and Rollout. Pikachu had essentially cornered himself inside a frozen cyclone made of glass. Sparks flew from scrapping against the spinning chainsaw ball that was Sandslash.

The both of them flew out of the opening in the top of stilled tornado, steel still biting steel. Pikachu pulled his tail away, spinning around rapidly and slamming the flat end of his tail against Sandslash, launching him back into the frozen cyclone's opening. The force of his crash made the entire structure shatter.

Pikachu landed, instantly firing a Thundershock, strong enough to be mistaken for a Thunderbolt. Sandslash stabbed the ground, the force making a thick spray of sand erupt before him. The wall of sand from the Sand Attack intercepted the lightning, turning into a wall of glass.

Pikachu began firing several salvos of lightning, all of them blocked by sand attacks, despite Pikachu's efforts of strengthening each Thundershock. Sandslash pushed against the walls of glass, sending them towards Pikachu. Pikachu easily leapt over the walls, Sandslash bursting through one of them.

The flying shards momentarily stunned Pikachu and made him flinch. Before the rolling ball of spikes could impale Pikachu, he swung his tail and turned it to iron, using it as a makeshift shield. Sparks erupted anew from the spinning blades that scratched against the surface of Pikachu's Iron Tail, one of the few things standing between Pikachu and the grinder.

It didn't take long for Sandslash to suddenly stop, Pikachu launching Sandslash back. Sandslash's rigid body bounced off the ground, scraping away the dirt with every hit. Pikachu calmly walked over to the limp Sandslash on the ground, ginning the entire way. Sandslash willed his body to move, seeing a tiny jolt of electricity jump across one tip of his spike to another.

"_No! Not again_!" Sandslash screamed in the depths of his mind, realizing the trap that he had been caught in. Pikachu was now standing over him, casting a pitying gaze, knowing full well that the action infuriated Sandslash even more.

"You know…I could've sent an electrical current through my tail while it was iron and set you on fire, but I decided not to since I have no intention of killing you or Raichu. I only attack the way I do because I know you guys can dodge it. It took a few times, but it seems like you finally fell victim to my trap, you took the bait so easily" Pikachu chuckled, ruffling the fur on Sandslash's head with every pat. Sandslash growled behind his shut lips, unable to shirk away from the patronizing petting he was receiving.

"Enough!" Bellowed Raichu, appearing from one of the bushes.

Pikachu instinctively jumped back, expecting an attack from the ferocity in Raichu's voice, surprised to see Raichu calmly walk over to Sandslash, helping him up. Raichu pressed his paw against Sandslash's body, absorbing the electricity that was paralyzing Sandslash.

"That's a neat trick, I didn't know you could do that" Pikachu remarked.

"Neither did I, I tested it out and it worked. Without the dampeners this wouldn't be possible."

"I've got so much energy coursing through my body after our last battle, holding it all in almost hurts. I don't want to just vent all of this on nothing, I wanna test it out one someone. I don't plan on killing you, I trust that you guys can keep up with me and will be able to dodge" Pikachu explained nonchalantly.

Raichu slammed the end of his tail against Sandslash's body, separating the both of them before a bolt the spot they were once in. Sandslash dove into the earth, Raichu charged towards Pikachu. Raichu had decided to use physical attacks, seeing as ranged electrical attacks seemed to not even affect him.

Pikachu smirked, sidestepping easily as Sandslash's claws stabbed through the ground, only inches away from Raichu's face who was about to throw a punch at Pikachu. Pikachu leapt into the air, firing a bolt of electricity at the frozen combatants that had almost killed each other off.

Raichu jumped away, stabbing his tail into the ground and using it to push himself away. Sandslash did a back flip, digging back into the ground as fast as he could. The electrical current traveled through the ground, already at Sandslash's heels. Sandslash dug deeper and faster, despite the fact that the dirt did not conduct electricity well, it still traveled deeper and deeper through the ground, scorching as it went.

Sandslash was finding it harder to dig through the earth, the deeper he went, the less air there was and the tougher the earth was to claw through. Just before the electric current reached him, it was drawn back to the surface. All of the electricity had been absorbed by Raichu's tail that had been stabbed into the ground earlier. Raichu redirected the attack right back at Pikachu, adding in some of his own power.

Pikachu was still in mid air, falling back to the ground from gravity's pull. Pikachu spun and slammed the bolt with his tail. The bolt was redirected as if deflecting off Pikachu's tail.

* * *

Brock was still running away from the battlefield, throwing himself to the ground when a bolt of lightning the size and length of a train ran through the forest. What was left was a smoldering trench, any trees that were in the path of the colossal lightning attack had disintegrated into ash.

Some of the trees were only half destroyed, their branches, leaves, and bark now on fire and converging onto the other side. Brock summoned his Swampert to douse the flames in water so that it would not spread.

All the while, Brock felt like he did a week ago, when they had encountered the giant Dragonite for the second time. The attacks were not as catastrophic as the giant Dragonite's attacks, but they were nonetheless devastating. Brock had underestimated the Pokemon's abilities; they were more destructive than he had thought capable.

* * *

Pikachu finally landed, feeling somewhat irritated at the idea that the attack might've come close to Brock. Raichu braced himself for another attack, surprised to see Pikachu turn tail and run away from him. Sandslash was just making his way back to the surface, digging through the burnt and ashy dirt.

Pikachu was nimble, fast, and agile, easily clearing half a mile of distance in a few seconds with his Agility and Quick Attack. He stopped and turned around on all fours, his paws settling in the dirt, making sure he had good footing. Volts of electricity began to scamper all over the ground, like Wurmples. The bolts grew bigger, appearing like wriggling, wreathing Ekans that finally converged on a single target.

Himself.

The force with which Pikachu burst forward sent a wave of earth behind him. The attack's name came from the only thing that could come close to its power.

Rail Gun.

Like a Stantler caught in the headlights of a car, Raichu's body froze. Raichu suddenly felt the earth give out underneath ground before him split in two, Sandslash had used Fissure from underground. By the time the gap was two feet open, Pikachu had already passed the area where Raichu had stood, the force that came with his attack took with it the earth behind him.

Pikachu began to notice a crack in the earth, snaking its way along the ground and matching his speed.

The single dividing line that separated the earth from Sandslash's Fissure was catching up to Pikachu. It was like a race between the line and Pikachu, the line already beneath Pikachu's stomach. The ground a few inches behind Pikachu's tail was already split a meter wide.

Pikachu touched the earth for a brief second, jumping to one of the sides where the fissure split the earth. He passed through several trees, his landing making a deep crater in the ground that caused everything around him to be pushed away from him.

"That was awesome! I wonder what would happen if I hit someone with that?" Pikachu wondered happily, already beginning to sober up from his aggressive electric stupor. For the moment, Pikachu could not move, the attack requiring him to recharge his strength.

* * *

Brock could feel the hair on his back stand on end, the air filled with the smell of ozone. A flurry of curse words ran through Brock's mind, watching giant trees being uprooted at his sides.

A thunderous crash came reached his ears when a gigantic tree landed a few meters in front of him. Brock easily scaled over it, landing behind it and sitting against the side for cover. When the tree began to roll over him, Brock began to wonder whether his choice of cover had been wisely picked.

Brock was dazed momentarily, seeing bright lights scurry across his vision, knowing full well that it was still daytime. A quick look around made Brock repeatedly say in his mind, "someone up there must love me."

His legs were wobbling frantically as he tried to stand up, making it almost impossible. Using the surrounding fallen trees as support, he managed to stand and eventually sit atop the trunk. Brock did his best to get all the dirt that was on his outfit, in his hair, ears, nose, mouth, and even in some areas that made Brock wonder how they even got there.

Starring off in the distance filled Brock with awe and terror, the aftermath of Sandslash and Pikachu's attack had created a chasm that rivaled a canyon.

* * *

Raichu had stabbed his tail into the side of the fissure to stop himself from falling. He swung his body until he landed on the surface, looking around in amazement, flabbergasted by the very same thing that Brock was awed by. Sandslash burst out of the ground, heading over in Pikachu's direction.

Raichu rushed over to him asking, "where do you think you're going?"

"Over to fight him, what do you think?" Sandslash replied, shrugging off Raichu's paw on his shoulder.

"Are you crazy! Did you not see what he just did? He's out of our league; we can't beat him. He's too powerful" Raichu reached over and tried to put his paw on Sandslash's shoulder to stop him. Sandslash batted the hand away and started walking once more.

"I'll fight him alone then. I know I can beat him. He wants a fight, I'll give him one" Sandslash grumbled before disappearing in the ocean of earth. Raichu watched hopelessly, unable to stop Sandslash from going any further and fighting. The seeds of fear had been planted deep in him by Pikachu's power.

Sandslash was scared, but determined to take on Pikachu. More than anything he wanted to deflate Pikachu's ego. He was not about to let someone get away with patronizing him. There was one thing that was bothering him about Pikachu's abilities.

Pikachu had just created a new move, or one that he had never seen. Sandslash guessed that this was only possible because of the removal of the dampeners. If this was true, then Sandslash concluded that he could also make up his own moves, or possibly use moves that he wasn't previously capable of using.

Sandslash resurfaced a few meters away from Pikachu's location just in case that Pikachu decided to send a current through the ground and get him. Pikachu turned, a bemused look on his face that enraged Sandslash to the point where he was now blind with fury.

Sandslash rapidly stabbed the ground repeatedly; the ground began to rumble so much that Pikachu actually began to worry. The electric mouse began to put as much distance between him and Sandslash. It was when he did that plumes of earth rose into the air, waves of dirt and rock building up into a single attack.

Pikachu's energy finally recharged, bursting from the area as fast as possible. Darting off the ground and the surrounding trees, Pikachu risked a peek at what Sandslash had into store for him and couldn't help but be a little surprised at the sight of a tsunami of rock and dirt trailing behind him.

Pikachu continued to run, finding the tallest tree around and running up its side like a ramp. He combined Agility and Quick Attack once more, skyrocketing off the tree and into the air. Pikachu spun around, aiming himself at the earth tsunami that still towered over him.

The crackling whip of lightning dragged across the forest floor, an erupting trail of infernos followed the scorched path through the woods that Pikachu just made. The bolt carved up the impending landslide, severing it down the middle. Pikachu plummeted through the treetops, landing only a few yards away from Sandslash that seemingly predicted where he would be when he landed.

Sandslash sheathed both his claws into the ground; a single crack sprung from the wound in the dirt and zipped underneath Pikachu before he could react. Pikachu jumped, assuming that it was another one of Sandslash's signature Fissure attacks. It was then that Pikachu quickly realized that he had fallen for Sandslash's traps.

The ground beneath him split like it usually did when Sandslash used Fissure, but the slabs of earth that had just separated swung off the ground as if on hinges. Sandslash had combined Fissure and Rock Tomb into one move that would have Pikachu sandwiched between two slabs of earth and crushed.

Pikachu had nowhere to go, nothing to jump off of to get away. Despite the fact that he had been fooled into taking the bait and leaving himself open to the real attack in mid air where he was unable to dodge, Pikachu couldn't help but admire two things about Sandslash.

One: that he had managed to trick him in the first place, and two: because Sandslash was starting to learn how he could use any move that would be physically possible for him and every move that belonged to his ground type attribute.

The sound of the two slabs slamming together and the crunching gravel aftermath sounded for miles. Sandslash couldn't help but wonder and worry a little after seeing that the slabs had been reduced to rubble. Like Pikachu, Sandslash had no intention of killing his rival and opponent.

The subtle dimming of the sunlight almost went unnoticed by Sandslash, had he not noticed, he would not have dodged that attack that Pikachu had sent at him. Pikachu finally landed, only several yards away from Sandslash that had already taken a defensive stance.

"Okay, I've gotta ask, how did you escape that?" Sandslash asked, referring to the point where Pikachu was supposed to be crushed.

"Simple" Pikachu replied curtly, lifting his paw and aiming it at Sandslash, causing him to flinch and prepare to dodge. What caught him surprise was that a purple rectangular barrier appeared between him and Pikachu.

"You know a barrier move!" Sandslash exclaimed.

"I actually just learned it now. Probably with my dampeners off, I can know any move I'm supposed to know. I didn't even know I had a move like this until just now. Had I know earlier, I would've helped with making more barriers when the Muks were attacking. I'm so used to attacking that Ash and even I overlooked strategic and defensive moves like this. So to answer your question, I used it like a platform and got away " Pikachu explained.

Pikachu finally noticing the ground beneath him beginning to go from warm to burning. Pikachu barely managed to get away as the ground beneath him erupted. As Pikachu ran, he hardly noticed the red sections of ground glow red, passing over them just as magma spewed from below.

Not only did Pikachu have to dodge past the minefield of lava, but the lava that rained from above. Hot molten droplets burned holes through any unfortunate shading leaf like they were made of rice paper. Pikachu could feel streaks of heat graze his fur as the descending molten globules barely missed him.

As Pikachu scampered about, he couldn't help but reprimand himself and praise Sandslash's plan. The fact that Sandslash had gotten him to talk, allowing him to stall for time was brilliant. Sandslash had used Earth Power, a move that typically dealt with making the earth beneath the opponent burst up in a plume by controlling the ground underneath. With the dampeners gone, Sandslash had gone to the furthest depths and rerouted the magma veins to come to come to the surface.

As long as Sandslash had some part of him imbedded into the ground, he would be able to do the attack. The fact that he had stalled for so much time, allowed him to make numerous amounts magma mines on the battlefield.

* * *

Brock watched from the distance as towers of lava skyrocketed from the ground, branching out once they got too high and showering the forest in a hellish firestorm. All foliage was quickly mowed down easily. A warm red glow was all that was left beyond the border of surviving trees between him and the battle. Brock had been through many battles against the undampened Pokemon, but none had been so powerful as to terraform the area to a molten wasteland.

* * *

Pikachu panted from across the lake of lava, the air between him and Sandslash shimmered from the heat. One of the leaves from one of the trees fell off, landing on the lava and instantly burning out in seconds with a white flame. Pikachu was confident that Sandslash wouldn't attack from below, at least in this area since he couldn't dig through lava and would have to resort going the long way around it.

"I'm tired of being on the defensive," Pikachu mumbled irritably, jumping into the air directly over the lava.

Sandslash watched in rapt fascination as a bridge of Light Screens made its way over the large body of lava, Pikachu heading towards him now. Pikachu watched Sandslash stab his claw into the ground, leaping off the barrier he had been currently running on just before a spike of stone jutted out of the ground, coated with lava.

The hot tip of the spike easily pierced the barrier. Just before Pikachu landed, he made another barrier to stop his fall. The process was repeated several times until Sandslash found the opening he was looking for.

Pikachu flipped through the air, making a vertical Light Screen behind him and jumping off it, amused that Sandslash had taken the bait of him being defenseless while in mid air. The top section of iron quills that were part of Sandslash's back as he curled up into a ball while using Gyro Ball were diced off by Pikachu's Iron Tail.

Sandslash ended up landing on Pikachu Light Screen Bridge, Pikachu made his own platform, adding to the many that made the lava field appear like a checkerboard. Pikachu summoned a corridor of Light Screens aimed at Sandslash, a ball of electricity was cradled in Pikachu's paws.

As long as it was a move of the same element as the Pokemon itself, the move could be used. Pikachu fired a Zap Cannon at the Light Screen corridor, the bolt reflecting off the screens, heading faster and faster towards Sandslash.

The move was meant to disorient the target if they tried to follow the attack as the attack would bounce off the screens so fast that the target's eyes would be unable to keep up with it. Rather than analyze where it would be striking and trying to dodge it, the best course of action would've been to get out of the way as quickly as possible.

Sandslash slid across the Light Screen pathway, the bolt missing him by just a few inches. Four light screens suddenly boxed him in, just as Sandslash shattered one with the simple slash of his claws, Pikachu was already above him, making another box while simultaneously charging a Thunderbolt.

Being stuck in a Light Screen prison, not only made him easier to hit and held him in place, but it made it so that any escaping volts from his attack would be directed right back at the center where his target stood, getting the maximum amount of damage.

Pikachu could've easily zapped Sandslash with one Thunderbolt before, but he didn't see the fun in that, and Sandslash was proving to be a reliable Guinea Grumpig for all the moves that Pikachu was making up on the spot.

Sandslash swung his claws all around, shattering the surrounding Light Screens once more. The shards fluttered for a few seconds all around him as he crouched underneath the shrapnel. Pikachu's Thunderbolt was intercepted by the fading fragments of his own shattered Light Screen, deflecting the lightning bolt in every direction, unable to pass through the cloud of Light Screen shards that disappeared within a second.

"Not bad" Pikachu couldn't help but comment; the timing for the Light Screen shards to still reflect his attack before they faded needed perfect timing.

Sandslash stood still as he concentrated but leaving himself completely open to another attack. Pikachu waited to see what Sandslash had in store, landing a few yards behind Sandslash on the Light Screen Bridge. The barrier that had been beneath Pikachu shattered, but Pikachu was already on another platform.

What had broken it was another rock spike; Sandslash had managed to do Stone Edge without touching the ground.

To use an elemental move like that without making any contact with the element was something that required a lot of concentration, experience, and skill. Pikachu had learned it long ago. The benefit of doing it was that you didn't use your energy reserves like when Pikachu did used Thunder but from the clouds.

"You're full of surprises" Pikachu complimented, dodging the rock spikes that thrusted out of the ground diagonally in an attempt to catch him while he was jumping. They eventually surrounded him and tried stabbing him all at once, but Pikachu landed on solid ground, the dirt was burning hot and made him hop from one foot to the other.

He tried to put more distance between him and the lava that bled from the earth. All around, Pikachu watched as the trees wilted from dehydration and spontaneously combusted from the sheer heat. Smoke rose into the skies, blocking out the sun in a thick layer of gray clouds that managed to capture the crimson glow of the lava, giving the heavens an ominous and malevolent radiance.

* * *

Raichu watched in horrific fascination and admiration, feeling like the world was ending. The fact that the skies had turned black and red did not ease Raichu's feeling that he was in a world approaching the apocalypse. He had climbed atop one of the nearby trees, watching as Pikachu and Sandslash fought over a large pool of lava.

Raichu felt like he was the only sane Pokemon for miles, unable to fathom how this was still a sparring match. The slightest mistake could lead to them falling into the molten madness below them, killing them instantly. He wondered whether or not his lack of enthusiasm to fight in these conditions made him a coward.

Raichu wondered how his master would've reacted to this kind of thing, relenting in the end and admitting that his master probably would've approved. Had his master asked it of him, Raichu would've gladly joined the battle. Yet, he felt clearly outmatched by the Pokemon before him.

Raichu had fought countless battles and gotten stronger with his electrical attacks. All he needed to do most of the time was a few electrical attacks and it was over, sometimes Raichu got bored. Even the times that the battles became challenges, he ended up being defeated, which took the fun of it being a challenge away.

Raichu's trainer hadn't taught him moves like Iron Tail or Volt Tackle. Moves like Light Screen were impossible for him; at least he thought they were when the dampeners were still on. If Surge could see him now, would he understand? Would he be disappointed? Raichu didn't know, but planned to join the fight when he saw the opportunity.

* * *

Sandslash was now fighting on landing with Pikachu, leaving the battlefield of lava. His claws stabbed into the ground once more, a single line in the dirt separated Sandslash and Pikachu. The ground, shot upwards making the miles of land behind Sandslash become a plateau.

Sandslash dove into the earth from atop his plateau, a river of lava surging behind him and pouring over the battlefield. Pikachu turned and ran from the lavafall that rushed towards him like a flood. Sandslash burst from the ground a few meters away from Pikachu, underground, Sandslash would always be faster than Pikachu if he didn't use his speed increasing moves.

After doing a spin through the air, Sandslash landed on his claw, balancing his entire body on it. Sandslash used his two remaining Fissure attacks, combining them with Rock Tomb at the same time. Twin cracks stretched across the ground in a V formation going past Pikachu.

For miles around the ground burst up, creating pillars, ravines, and canyons all over the place, the earth bled lava from every open earthy orifice. Pikachu leaped down from the jutting stone pillars that had risen sharply from the ground. Many of the pillars and canyons collapsed as the lava ate away at their foundations.

Sandslash plowed through everything with Gyro Ball, the structure that Pikachu was standing on gave out underneath him. Pikachu had run out of Light Screens to jump off of. Sandslash rebounded off one of the canyon walls as Pikachu used the remaining pieces of what had been the floor underneath him and jumped off it.

Pikachu used Iron Tail, but didn't have enough time to swing in retaliation, using it as a shield. Sandslash slammed into Pikachu; both of them soaring through the air, crashing several meters away from the new rugged terrain where lava seeped from the bases.

Pikachu slammed into the ground and tumbled a few feet, Sandslash had already gotten up and prepared a new attack. A giant boulder emerging from the ground and with a single, gentle tap from Sandslash's claw sent the boulder charging towards Pikachu, leaving a deep trench behind it.

Pikachu jumped and diced the top of the boulder feeling stupid once he saw Sandslash thrusting his claw at Pikachu in mid air. The claw stopped just before Pikachu as he arched his whole body back to dodge from mid air. Sandslash smiled at the trap within the trap.

Pikachu quickly realized that Sandslash had used False Swipe, stopping just before actually attacking, making the opponent react and leave themselves open. Sandslash swung his claws down at Pikachu who spun in mid air, slapping the claw away with the flat side of his tail.

Pikachu landed, his back to the ground, Sandslash leaping into the air and plummeting onto Pikachu. Sandslash reared one of his claws back, aiming it at Pikachu's head. Pikachu lifting his lower body with his tail and kicked with all of his strength.

Sandslash did not budge an inch; the claws on his toes had dug into the earth and anchored him there. Pikachu was pinned to the ground; there was no way for him to dodge the strike as Sandslash plunged his claw through the air at Pikachu's skull.

Raichu desperately tried to catch up to the two combatants, finding them seemingly frozen in place. Pikachu's face was covered in blood, but there wasn't a scratch on Pikachu's face. Sandslash's claw hovered just a few millimeters from Pikachu's face.

The claw he had attacked with was the one that had been slightly eaten away by the acidic floors of the city when they battled against the Muks. Sandslash had attacked too hurriedly and without thinking. Had he used his other claw that was longer, he would've managed to land a solid and lethal attack on Pikachu.

Raichu wondered why Sandslash didn't go for another attack, his question being answered when a small jolt of electricity jumped from one patch of fur to another. It had taken a few more instances of contact, but Pikachu had managed to use his Static ability once more and paralyze Sandslash.

The blood had come from Sandslash's mouth; the kick hadn't managed to move him, but had managed to make him spit up blood. Sandslash's body tipped over, his frame still frozen as if he had rigor mortis. Pikachu got up, slowly heading over to him as if to finish him off.

Raichu stepped up, tearing Pikachu's attention away from the fallen Sandslash.

"Real nice, you come now when I'm actually starting to get tired. Or is your plan to remove my static ability from Sandslash so he can fight again?" Pikachu inquired.

"Don't bother" Sandslash announced, getting a surprised look from Pikachu.

"What?" Pikachu cried out incredulously.

"I surrender. I realize now that there's no point to fighting you anymore. You've could've killed me from the beginning of this fight" Sandslash relented.

"What about you?" Pikachu said, turning to Raichu.

"I'm not fighting you. There's no way I would win. Besides, you're sober now. You've released all the pent of electricity you've stored up inside you" Raichu pointed out, Pikachu's visage now back to being bright and yellow again.

Pikachu's shoulders slumped; he still felt that he had enough energy to fight Raichu evenly, despite his fatigue. He'd managed to make them fight, but he couldn't force them unless he really wanted to hurt them, or change their relationship.

"All right, I'm done" Pikachu sighed; the trees behind them began to burn as white trails of fire licked along the tree's roots and skyrocketed up the bark.

* * *

Brock stood leaning against the few remaining trees outside of the battlefield. He had sent Swampert to put out the fires to the best of his ability, clearing the skies with Rain Dance. Brock did not stir when the lush green bushes rustled across from him and three figures emerge.

"You guys finally finished?" Brock commented; sounding unsurprised.

The three Pokemon looked at each other awkwardly, they hadn't been sure how Brock was going to react or how they were going to explain what had just happened.

"I'm gonna pretend that I didn't see anything, your trainers won't hear a word of this" Brock consoled, gaining another gasp from all three Pokemon. They had all perceived that Brock was a mere human, but there seemed to be more to Brock than met the eye. What they found more surprising was that something like terraforming several acres of land could be so easily ignored. 


	8. Highway to Help

**Keep in mind that any of the characters in this fic can die. Even if they're main characters. I think I already proved that with Sabrina.**

* * *

**September 13**

The heavens were a murky gray, halfheartedly threatening to rain. This kind of whether depressed Ash; although he didn't let it show to Dawn. They had been riding Rapidash for several hours, the only sounds coming from the jingling bullet casings that bounced with every gallop. Dawn and Ash convinced Meowth to go into Dawn's Pokeglov so that he could rest easier and relieve Rapidash of the extra weight. Meowth begrudgingly agreed, letting Dawn temporarily return him into her Pokeglov.

As long as the ammo cases didn't make contact with Rapidash's hooves, tail, and flame mane, the bullets were sure to not ignite and fire. Up ahead was something that was not common to Dawn or Ash. Rows and rows of discarded cars littered the streets, sprawled all over the road.

Rapidash slowed her gallop to a casual trot, Ash gazing over and seeing the interior. As Ash had expected, the innards were vacant and abandoned with the doors left ajar. Ash dismounted, Dawn staying on Rapidash as Ash neared the vehicle and opened the door.

From what Ash could tell the car had been discarded hurriedly, the seatbelts hanging limply just out the door. The seats were cold; no human contact had embraced the synthetic interior for several days, if not weeks. Ash checked to see if by some speck of luck that the keys were in the ignition, slapped with dismay when they weren't.

He had hoped that in the rushed abandonment of the car that the keys had been left behind so that they could drive it. Technically, he wasn't old enough to drive, but as Surge had laughingly reminding all of them over the past few days when he had joined the group, "It's the end of the fucking world, who gives a shit."

The phrase seemed to be his answer for everything and held some truth to it despite being rather blunt and crude. Ash's only reason for wanting to take the car was to give Rapidash a chance to rest. She hadn't complained once during their journey, but Ash was sure that the fatigue was getting to her, no matter how much she wouldn't admit it.

Ash reached over the seats, opening the glove box to see if there was anything of use to them. The sudden drop and the pouring contents made Ash flinch, stacks of papers flooding out of their miniature prison. Ash skimmed and sorted through the useless scraps of paper and objects. Finally, he found something that was actually somewhat useful to them.

"What did you find?" Dawn called from atop Rapidash.

Ash unfolded a road map of Kanto, handing it over to Dawn whose Pokeglov was later found out of being capable of making a better 3D map than his. Her mapping ability wasn't much better, but it at least had color while his map had degraded to gray fuzz when he deflected Kaiza's bullet with the Pokeglov.

Dawn compared the map to the one on her Pokeglov, seeing the similarities between them. Ash went around and looked at both maps, saying nothing to let her think.

"I think we're on the right track. If we keep going down this street, we can make it to the others in no time" Dawn said, motioning towards the street where other cars were sprawled like bulky, metallic bodies.

Ash didn't bother looting the rest of the car, realizing that any more weight that he brought on with them would only slow down Rapidash's speed.

Once Ash got on, Dawn's arms wrapped around his waist once more, she had done it so many times in the past few hours that she and Ash were perfectly comfortable with the action, so much that it had become second nature when they were riding Rapidash, like breathing.

They looked up, seeing a green sign.

**Sunnyville 3 miles**

Stretching out before them was a seemingly endless bridge, suspended several meters over the water. Like the skies, the sea was also murky, veiling what lied beneath with an opaque and dismal waters that washed against the pillars that held up the bridge. The choppy black waves lapped up against the sides, the sound of it breaking against the concrete came with the strong smell of sea salt that reached Ash's nose.

The ocean of blackness extended all the way to the ends of the gray horizon, a sense of calm came over all three of them. There were more cars up ahead of them and strangely enough, none of them were scattered near the center, creating a clear pathway for them to go through.

Ash warned Rapidash not to get too close to the derelict vehicles for the sole reason that they might possibly still have gas that would ignite with the flames that erupted from Rapidash's hooves, tail, and mane. To do this, Rapidash had to move slowly among the cars. From what Ash could tell, the cars looked like they had been pushed to the opposite sides of the bridge.

He gazed into each vehicle that had left some of its doors ajar, revealing the ruined interiors that had been damaged by the waters that had managed to enter it.

From the map, there was another road that was less congested with cars; Ash remembered it as the cycling road where he had met Chopper and the rest of his gang when they went to deliver medicine to a sick Shellder. Yet, to get on that road, they would have to backtrack and start again from the start; they had already gone a good distance.

Ash and Dawn wanted to see the others as soon as possible, figuring that at the pace that they were going now, they would make it in the same amount of time that it would take them to go back and travel the entire cycling road.

Dawn's head was constantly swiveling around them, looking at every car that they passed by. Neither she nor Ash were accustomed to cars, they were very rare since bikes were considered more eco friendly. Cars were not only extremely expensive themselves, but to fuel them cost almost as much money.

From what Dawn had heard from her mother, they were developing ways to make alternate fuel sources for cars so that they could become more easily accessible to the public. Now that Ash realized it, if cars were so expensive and rare these days, why were so many discarded here on the street? Ash was used to assuming that wild Pokemon had come through an area and caused them to evacuate their homes and jobs.

Dawn continued to look around, fascinated like Ash eventually became by the sheer amount of cars of all styles and colors. It was then that she noticed that some of the cars had holes in them. These weren't small holes, these were holes the size of Surge's fists.

Ash began noticing them as well, seeing that they were appearing more frequently. Not only were they on the cars, but they were also on the road as well. The further they ventured across the bridge, the more they noticed certain things that were beginning to make them realize that the bridge was not safe.

Now the cars appeared completely totaled, some of them were nothing but metallic shreds. No longer were there beautiful cars of every style and colors, now reduced to iron peels and strips.

Several shreds of what had once been clothing was littered across the asphalt, some of it had caught onto nooks and crannies of the surrounding cars. Up ahead the bridge had been cut in half. As Rapidash jumped over a meter-wide gap to the other side, Ash noticed that the cut was perfectly clean.

Rapidash had to be careful where she stepped since one of her legs could fall through one of the holes that led straight down into the ocean below. Dawn was beginning to feel chills crawl up her spine, not caused by the breeze or the salty spray of the waves that crashed up against the support beams of the bridge.

Dawn's Pokeglov beeped at the appearance of another Pokemon, making them turn their heads in every direction.

"_Cloyster, Bivalve Pokemon, evolution of Shellder. It fights by keeping its shell tightly shut for protection and by shooting spikes to repel foes. It sucks up water and releases it to either attack or propel itself through the water. Its shell is extremely hard and only opens to attack. When it is closed, one can fire a missile at it or drop a bomb on it and it won't leave a scratch on the shell, as it is harder than diamond while the spikes are even harder. 4.11 ft, 292lbs_."

Tracy had augmented the database in each of their Pokeglovs, giving them all the info necessary that they would need to know in battle. The fact that the Cloyster's shell was harder than diamond made the fact that they had guns almost completely moot.

At that moment dozens of Cloyster rose from the ocean, opening their shells to reveal the sinister smiles that stretched the length of their entire spherical, black face. All of them chuckled maliciously, preparing the first salvo of attacks. Rapidash burst forward with all of her strength.

There was no point in fighting, she was outnumbered and outmatched with her opponent using her one weakness against her. Ash pulled out his submachine gun while Dawn whipped out her 9mm pistol. Many of the Cloyster slammed their shells shut in response to the appearance of the guns.

Regardless, Ash figured that while their shells were shut, they couldn't attack and proceeded to unleash a wave of bullets that pinged off their shells as if they were corks. Ash knew that their innards were tender, which was why nature compensated them for that weakness and gave them strong shells.

Every gallop from Rapidash made Ash jerk his gun up and down, wasting several rounds of bullets that plunged into the sea, flew over their targets for several yards, and imbedded themselves into the asphalt of the already hole ridden bridge. Dawn fired her pistol until it was out of ammo, tucking back into her holster and pulling out her magnum.

The sound was painful to both their ears; the recoil alone was shaking their arms to their very foundations. Ash and Dawn had to pause to let their arms rest and take a break from the pain; feeling like their muscles and bones in his arms had been tenderized. They hadn't really practiced with their guns enough to get used to the deafening bangs and the recoils of every blast, but at least for the most part their aiming was their only redeeming factor.

Cloysters from the other side of the bridge appeared, firing their attacks all at once while Ash and Dawn had preoccupied themselves with the Cloysters on their left. Icicle Spears literally rained over them, Rapidash managing to barely weave through them as they stabbed into the ground, shattered, and turned to slush.

Actual spikes were thrown into the mix as well, landing only inches away behind Rapidash's hooves. The onslaught of attacks got Dawn and Ash's attention, both of them now realizing that they were going to be attacked on all sides.

"DAWN! TAKE THE LEFT! I'LL HANDLE THE RIGHT!" Ash screamed, pulling out Kaiza's Thunderbolt and emptying his clip in a few seconds. Water sprayed against the Cloyster's shells as the bullets fell short of their target and piercing the water just before them, many of the Cloysters wondering if what they had been shown was a warning shot.

Dawn reloaded a fresh ammo clip into her pistol and decided to dual wield her only two handguns. Ash's arm wrapped around Dawn's waist since she no longer anchored herself to him. Both he and Dawn clamped onto Rapidash with only their legs, Ash having a better footing because of his feet actually being in the stirrup. Both of them leaned forward with all of their strength, the speed that they were going at because of Rapidash was making the G force tug at their faces.

Ash swung his free arm over Dawn's head instinctively, smacking an Icicle Spear out of the air with the brunt of his Pokeglov. Dawn fired at one of the Cloyster when it surged through the water, her bullet sinking into the waves that it left behind. Every Cloyster began to do the same, closing the distance between them rapidly.

This time they fired a salvo not directly aimed at Ash and Dawn, but ahead of them. For a good dozen meters was an entire field of spikes, some of them pearly white, while others were a malevolent lavender. The Cloyster had used Spikes and Toxic Spikes in an attempt to slow Rapidash down.

There was enough poison in those spikes to kill Rapidash in seconds with the slightest scratch. Rapidash ran up the very inch before the field of spikes began, bouncing into the air with all of her strength. It was once they had cleared half of it that gravity began to yank them down.

At the rate they were falling, they were going to be impaled by the spikes below. Rapidash shot a stream of flames at one of the cars, igniting the small traces of gasoline inside. A thunderous explosion blew Dawn and Ash's hair up, the mile of bridge behind them began to shatter and sink into the sea.

The force from the explosion pushed Rapidash through the air just enough to have her land outside of the spike field. Rapidash surged forward, a thin thread of water cutting through the bridge where she had once stood. The field of spikes sunk into the water as the Cloysters swam in pursuit of Rapidash and the humans.

Sections of the bridge plunged into the ocean as the pressurized streams of water cut through the support beams and the bridge itself. Other Cloyster rained spikes from above while others went ahead and shot spikes from below the bridge. Rapidash easily outran the ones from above; the ones from below were a lot trickier.

Spikes of ice were melted and trampled easily from Rapidash's burning hooves. The areas where the ice spears came from were actually the only areas that could be considered safe as Toxic spikes also jutted out from the ground. Rapidash began resorting to crossing the bridge in leaps and bounds.

The Cloyster's water guns couldn't catch up with Rapidash, and they couldn't move while they attacked. By the time that they had moved ahead to attack, Rapidash was already going past them. Some of the Cloysters sucked in as much water as they could, expelling it with enough force to propel their nearly three hundred pound bodies into the air.

Rainbow blasts from the Cloyster's Aurora Beams collided with the ground just behind Rapidash, freezing it instantly. When the airborne Cloysters began to fall, they let gravity do the rest of the work for them. Their impact created a giant wave that curled over the bridge and threatened to crush Rapidash and the riders under the weight of the wave.

Ash and Dawn became mystified and worried as the wave curled around the bridge. The tunnel of water was closing in on them around them; Ash was reminded of when he had watched surfers surf through something similar. Rapidash barely made it out of the water tunnel, only to see that another one awaited her.

The waves continued to come at them, coming as close as a hair's width away from wetting them. Another pair of Cloysters prepared a wave, Rapidash planned to bounce out of their attack. The Cloysters showed no change in their attack as Rapidash bounded over them.

Ash watched as the waves pushed the cars below them further against the sides of the bridge. He now understood why it appeared that the cars had been assembled to leave a clear pathway for them.

When the dampeners were removed, the Cloysters attacked the people on the highway.

Their first salvo of spikes tore through the cars; those who decided to evacuate their vehicles had thought that they were better off without them. It was then the Cloysters proceeded to crush them with the waves that Rapidash had managed to escape. Any humans that hadn't been shredded by the spikes were washed over the bridge and into the ocean where they could essentially be labeled dead.

The place was a deathtrap, if not any place that was close to large expanses of water. With enough of the bridge destroyed, Ash felt better knowing that people would no longer make the same mistake as them and cross the bridge. Dawn knew that they had gotten out of tough situations before, but that did not ease her worry at the idea that they could still possibly die at that moment.

Rapidash finally landed, the waves that the Cloysters made crashing into the bridge behind them. The seawater rushed over the bridge, the protective walls and railings at the sides funneled the excess water over to them. Another Cloyster skyrocketed into the air, firing an Ice Beam at the water that now flooded the Bridge.

Rapidash bounced into the air once more, what was left of the bridge had now a thick layer of ice. Rapidash landed, the heat from her hooves melting the ice instantly, but as she tried to run, the water and ice made her slip. Ash and Dawn were thrown to the frozen floor, sliding several feet.

Rapidash had slammed into the ice so hard that it had actually cracked; Ash desperately tried to get up but kept slipping. The only thing on his mind was that he had to get away as fast as possible. The ice around Rapidash that was melting into water began to slowly evaporate, allowing her to gain a good footing.

Ash flicked one of his fingers, Mr. Mime being summoned in an instant. Whether or not the battle required barriers, Mr. Mime placed several of them up since every time he was summoned, that was usually what they needed him for. Ash was happy that Mr. Mime did so at that very moment as Toxic spikes and Icicle Spears began to rain on them.

"Mr. Mime, help Rapidash up and put Dawn on her" Ash commanded, Mr. Mime sparing not a second to do as he was told. Ash suddenly wished Pikachu had been there with him, feeling that the battle would've been a lot easier if Pikachu had entered the fray.

As soon as Dawn was levitated onto the now standing Rapidash Ash screamed, "GO! I'LL HOLD THEM OFF!"

Rapidash obeyed Ash's orders without question, regardless of who owned her; she would always consider Ash as her new master. As Ash summoned his Kingler, Rapidash bounced away once more. Ash searched his backpack for something that he had managed to take without Dawn's notice.

The barriers were shattering quickly, Ash rummaged through his supplies hurriedly, finding what he was looking for. Meowth had explained to him how they worked, and only to use them on special occasions. Ash couldn't summon all of his Pokemon since the slippery ground would make it difficult to stand, they would be a large target for an enemy that already outnumbered them, and many of them were still tired from the battle with the Muks.

One of the Cloysters leaped into the air, heading straight for Ash only to be intercepted by Kingler who had reared back his dominant claw. With all of his 10,000 horsepower strength, Kingler slammed his claw into the Cloyster and practically swiped it out of the air.

Pieces of the Cloyster's shell clattered against the icy ground, Ash was surprised that Kingler had actually managed to crack the Cloyster's harder than diamond shell.

"_Then again, I don't think anything that was hit with that much force would be in one piece afterwards_" Ash thought.

The attack left Kingler open to an attack from the Cloysters who were only so happy to oblige. Dozens of Ice Beams were all fired at Kingler while his claw slammed into the frozen floor, cracking it with ease. Just before the frigid beams collided with him, Kingler used Protect, blocking the attacks all at once.

Ash watched as the beams created a cocoon of ice since they couldn't directly freeze Kingler. Before they could launch another attack, Ash pointed his finger at Kingler and yelled, "Return." Hundreds of spikes skewered the ice cocoon from every angle until it was a mound of frozen slush.

Mr. Mime lifted one of the Cloysters out of the water with Psychic, Ash was sure that one of the Cloysters was now dead, hopefully alerting the others to stay away from them. The Cloyster clamped its shell shut just as Mr. Mime clenched his fist and condensed the purple aura-like mist around the Cloyster.

It took only seconds to realize that Mr. Mime's psychic attack wasn't working, capable of only making cracks along the shell. Mr. Mime tried increasing the pressure, finding it hard to penetrate the thick shell and crush the soft and tender innards. Ash quickly returned Mr. Mime to the Pokeglov as another salvo of spikes from every direction attacked Mr. Mime, all of them considering him more of a threat than the trainer.

The bridge a few meters away from Ash crumbled as something burst from below it and landed right before Ash, opening his shell to attack. Ash reacted quickly, sliding over to the Cloyster, swinging the sniper rifle strapped to his back into his hands and shoving the barrel into the Cloyster's face.

The Cloyster instantly realized what was going to happen and closed his shell to the world with all of his might. A bullet shooting out from the other side of the Cloyster from the shell's weak point, the hinge, alerted the other Cloysters of what had just happened.

The Closter's shell loosened up, the bullet's impact liquefied the Cloyster's innards from within its own shell. When the Cloyster's shell clamped shut, Ash had already shoved the barrel into the Cloyster's face, the shell nearly biting off one end of the barrel. Ash had already fired before the force of the closing shell pinched the barrel hole shut.

Other Cloysters proceeded to swarm the bridge to kill Ash. The broken sniper rifle clattered onto the ice as Ash pulled out his Thunderbolt and aimed it onto a new target that landed behind him, sending ice shard fragments through the air over Ash.

One of the Cloysters was about to clamp onto Ash's arms, Ash pulling the trigger before his arm was severed and the rest of the shell crashing into the icy ground. Another Cloyster landed behind him, Ash swiveling around and turning the gun to the next Cloyster. The Cloyster immediately shut his shell, waiting for his brethren to attack the human while he was open. What he did not expect was the sound of footsteps heading towards him, every bang coming from a bullet and every clatter coming from the sound of the shells hitting the icy floor.

Ash pulled out the weapon he had been saving, slamming the end of it into the small wedge where the ends of the shell met as hard as he could so that it would stick. The Cloyster heard Ash push himself off his shell and slide away. Ash took aim, and fired at the grenade that he had manage to wedge into the tiny gap he made with the bullets he fired earlier, chipping away and slowly eroding the shell one bullet at a time.

The explosion sent Ash head over heels on the ice, Ash eventually righted himself sending him sliding on his back as he reloaded the Thunderbolt, watching the smoke clear and reveal the Cloyster's shell unharmed but the innards pooling onto the ice. Ash brought two grenades to his mouth, pulling the pins out with his teeth and throwing one onto each side of the bridge and into the water, spitting the pins at the ground where they jittered and stopped.

Within three seconds two torrents of water rose into the air, spraying it into the ground and raining onto Ash as he tried to get up, the lubrication from the water on the already slippery floor did not make getting up any easier. More Clysters began jumping onto the bridge; Ash readied his last grenade and his gun. Ash threw the grenade at the Cloysters, taking careful aim with the Thunderbolt.

The Cloysters instinctively closed their shells; Ash's bullet collided with the grenade and ignited it. The explosion shook the very foundations of the bridge, but didn't leave a scratch on the Cloysters. Every Cloyster opened up their shell, revealing the toothy sinister smile that was accompanied with a cackle.

Ash stared into their eyes, frightened by what he saw. The Cloysters' eyes were bloodshot; a web of blood veins that traversed the entire eye. Their jaws shuddered; the sound of their teeth grinding and chattering was heard from the few meters between Ash and the Cloysters.

The stare in their eyes was not one of hatred, of hunger, or of fear. It was then that it finally occurred to Ash. They were killing for the sake of killing; their eyes were full of amusement and glee. Killing filled them with ecstasy, making them addicted to it, crave it almost every second they found a human to kill. Once they were done, they didn't even bother to eat the remains of the humans that they killed, they didn't eat meat.

Their eyes were filled with mad happiness, breathing heavily through their teeth, almost as if they were drug addicts, their choice of poison being killing. There were too many of them to fire at all at once. If he tried to kill one, the others would move to intercept and kill him. Each of them contemplated on how to extend this human's suffering for killing one of their brethren.

"_Then again, I won't have to shoot them all_" Ash thought confidently.

The pillars that held up the Cloysters crumbled under the weight and damage they had sustained from the grenade that Ash had lobbed earlier. The section of bridge beneath the Cloysters gave out, sinking into the water and taking the Cloysters with it. Ash grabbed the broken sniper rifle, stabbing it into the ground and pushing himself across the ice, sliding in the direction that Rapidash and Dawn had escaped to.

Ash was about to stab his makeshift oar into the ice when dozens of pressurized water guns diced the bridge into confetti. The iron sniper rifle's barrel in Ash's hands was severed, making Ash realize that his Pokeglov couldn't deflect power of that magnitude.

Something inside Ash made him move, barely dodging the slicing waters all around him. None of his movements were wasted, almost effortless and graceful. Ash couldn't explain it, but he was following a kind of feeling, letting him sense where the water streams would be so that he could move out of the way.

The bridge beneath him collapsed, chunks of concrete and ice plummeting into the choppy, black waters below. Ash could do nothing to stop himself from falling, part of him still wondering why he had been able to dodge all of those attacks. Instead of a splash, Ash's body slammed into a newly made floor of ice.

On the edge of the bridge that hadn't collapsed stood Dawn and her Mamoswine who had mustered enough strength to use Blizzard on the water below Ash. Dawn's Pachirisu jumped into the air and fired an electric attack at the water; Ash watched the currents dance across the water, feeling a sense of relief that the Cloysters were now dead.

A spike skyrocketed just inches away from in between Ash's legs proved otherwise. The Cloysters had closed their shells and ejected all water from their bodies before Pachirisu attacked the waters. Their shells were thick enough and could hermetically seal the innards from the outside world.

Rapidash leaped off the edge of the bridge, Ash scrambling over to her and doing his best to get one. As spikes rained from the frigid platform, in vain as Rapidash used Bounce, landing on the bridge. Rapidash landed back onto the ledge where Dawn stood, returning her Pokemon. Ash grabbed her hand and pulled her onto Rapidash with all of his strength. Rapidash had already started running, the bridge collapsing behind her as she ran away from the spikes and Water Guns.

A Cloyster burst from below the bridge ahead of them, Rapidash jumped over its attacks. The Cloyster began to turn himself towards Rapidash, taking aim once more as Rapidash began to fall directly over him. Rapidash lifted her head and sent a torrent of flame into the sky, accelerating her decent.

The Cloyster had yet to reload, closing his shell before Rapidash's hooves impacted him. Four cracks blossomed over Cloyster's shell as well as on Rapidash's hooves. Ash and Dawn suddenly remembered that Rapidash's hooves were also harder than diamonds. All four of Rapidash's legs burst through the shell, stomping and incinerating the Cloysters face and innards from inside its shell.

The Cloyster's body became a platform for Rapidash, leaping off it before the spikes and streams converged and obliterated their fallen ally. Rapidash landed painfully on the icy concrete, blood from her hooves now cooling on the ice with every gallop.

"I thought I told you to get away!" Ash yelled, subconsciously dodging a spike while Dawn turned towards him and missed the event.

"Sabrina asked me to look after you!" Dawn shouted back.

"I promised your mom that I would keep you safe!" Ash countered angrily.

"I promised Sabrina to keep you safe!"

Rapidash whinnied to get their attention, motioning with her neck in the direction ahead of them. Ash and Dawn turned to see the end of the bridge, only to be thrown off Rapidash once more by one of the Cloyster's attacks.

Rapidash tumbled across the asphalt, landing just off of the bridge and onto the mainland, covered in blood, every tumble along the ground had managed to take a patch of skin and leave it raw and bleeding underneath. Next to Rapidash rolled Dawn, hitting her head hard and nearly passing out.

Dawn fought for consciousness, trying to get up but unable to coordinate her movements, making her look drunk as she tried to fight through the painful daze. Ash's body was still on the bridge, slowly getting up. Dawn's smile of happiness that Ash was all right was quickly torn from her as the Cloyster began closing in on him. Ash unaware of his impending doom.

Dawn tried calling to him but ended up only coughing up blood, a streak of it rolling down the side of her nose from her forehead. It had been the first time she had tasted so much blood in her mouth. She slowly got up, reaching back and pulling both guns at her sides out of her holsters. The Cloysters had focused solely on Ash, opening their shells to fire at his fallen form.

Dawn took advantage of her temporary invisibility, firing both guns in her hands at the Cloyster's heads. The ground crunched as Cloysters slammed into the bridge; they were dead before they even touched the asphalt. Dawn continued to walk and fire, every shot shaking her entire frame from her slender arms all the way down.

The second one of her pistols ran out of ammo she cast it aside as if it was nothing, her free hand now gripping the magnum in her other hand to reduce the recoil as she walked and fired, nothing breaking her stride. The Cloysters now shifted their attentions to Dawn, responsible for already killing five of their group.

Ash began to crawl towards her, keeping low because of the gunshots he was hearing. Dawn's ammo quickly ran out, her free hand swiping the side of her skirt and grabbing an ammo clip she had tied to her thigh, slamming the fresh magazine into the gun and sending a salvo of bullets anew.

From underwater there had been something that was keeping the Cloysters busy, making them unable to fire their spikes or Water Guns.

Ash watched in amazement at Dawn's marksmanship. The Cloyster shells were only open for seconds once they shot out of the water, Dawn landing headshots on each one.

Her eyes rested on the black smirking spheres within the shell, her finger pulling the trigger. Ash was surprised by her hand-eye coordination, a talent that he and probably she did not know she possessed up until now. Dawn could only think what the others would say if they saw her, knowing at least that Surge might've been proud and approve of her actions.

She continued to walk at the same pace, holstering her gun at her side once it was low on ammo and swinging the shotgun strapped to her back and into her hands, firing a spray of bullets. The sound was enough to make the Cloyster's below wary of surfacing. So many of their brothers and sisters slowly descending through the water, trails and bubbles of blood being left behind them.

Dawn cocked the shotgun, two empty shells twirling through the air as she reloaded. When a Cloyster burst out of the bridge a few feet away Dawn knew that her instincts had been right. The Cloyster's smile quickly disappeared when it realized the shotgun was already in its face. Dawn pulled the trigger, erasing the Cloyster's smile even further.

What was left of the Cloyster was almost impossible to consider that it had once been the face of a living creature, let alone a Pokemon. The Cloyster's body hit the bridge, nothing more than a husk now. Dawn leaped over the bridge to Ash surprise, aiming the barrel at the already dead Cloyster. She unloaded round after round into the Cloyster, the shrapnel of the bullets shredding through its innards and splitting the shell in two once the bullets tore through the other side.

Dawn slung the shotgun onto her back, pulling out her magnum once more and unloading the rest of her clip into the Cloyster. She reloaded again; every bullet's impact sent a spray a fresh blood that began to coat her from the front. Ash lay there flabbergasted as Dawn began to scream and cry with every shot she fired.

For Dawn, this had been the first time that she had killed a Pokemon without the use of her own. She felt no longer powerless with the guns in her hands, no longer having to be a liability for the others and her Pokemon. She couldn't explain why, but she could see farther and react faster.

She would be able to help everyone, and now she wanted to exact her pent up frustration on the dead Cloyster, caring not about wasting ammo since there was already so much left over in the packages that Rapidash carried.

Ash's standards for overkill had been rewritten as Dawn finished her onslaught on the corpse that was now riddled with holes. A single Cloyster poked its head out of the water, saw that Dawn was standing over their dead and heavily mutilated comrade, and fired a spike.

Ash watched it all happen and moved with a speed that he did not know was his own, clearing four meters in half a second. Dawn gasped at the sudden appearance of Ash in front of her, watching his body shudder. Ash's mouth drizzled with blood, Dawn no longer caring that it was being coughed onto her dress to join the other bloodstains on her outfit.

Ash merely stared at her, his weak smile turning to gritted teeth before his jaw slackened and his eyes became a blank and dead stare, devoid of all emotion and life. He himself didn't know why he moved, he saw that Dawn was in trouble and his body moved on his own. Dawn watched the spark of life flicker and diminish from his eyes, her gaze traveling down to his navel where she heard something dripping and pattering onto her shoes.

Her eyes rested on the edge of the spike that protruded from Ash midsection while he continued to stand in front of her, his arms raised as if to shield her from more attacks. His arms finally drooped limply to his sides, his body teetered and slumped onto her, blood now pouring onto her skirt.

Dawn stood frozen, slowly being pushed down by Ash's weight; she could feel his liquid life bleed down her legs. The shock of Ash's sacrifice made her immobile, her mind and body unable to comprehend the possibility that Ash had just died to save her. Her mind had been wiped blank, at the moment; she couldn't contemplate how to react.

The last few seconds continued to replay in her mind, quickly realizing that if she hadn't gone on an angry shooting rampage on the dead Cloyster, she would not have been left open to an attack that Ash took for her. Dawn's body finally slammed onto the ground, the extra weight of Ash's body making it hard for her to breathe, not that she had been breathing after the trauma of Ash's body having its warmth slowly recede.

Dawn gasped, feeling Ash's pulse against her breast. It was weak and slow, but it was still there. She was afraid to push him off, and even if she wanted to, his body was heavier than she had anticipated.

The Cloyster that hit Ash was actually impressed at Ash's speed, making him pause for a few seconds. For a human to move at the speed of a Pokemon was quite a feat in the Cloyster's eyes. Just before he attacked once more at the general area where he thought the two humans were, a spike sheathed into his skull. The spike came from one of the Cloysters underneath the bridge, all eyes turning on the brother that betrayed them.

This particular Cloyster had seen Ash before when he was a Shellder. The Pokemon center had been taking care of him when he was sick, Ash bringing him the medicine to cure his ailment. He was released back into the wild, where he eventually evolved.

Unlike the other Cloysters, he had grown to like humans and felt that he had owed them. He had been too late to save the humans that had been on the bridge, but if he could let at least one human make it through alive, he could consider his debt settled, accepting the consequences that would come after.

Dawn could feel the concrete section of bridge beneath her began to turn ice cold, a thin layer of ice forming underneath her. The bridge began to tip over as the friendly Cloyster beneath knocked over the column supporting the part of the bridge. Dawn began to slide down towards the end of the bridge and onto the mainland along with Ash who slipped off her and landed next to her. Rapidash winced as she blew flames at her hooves, sealing the wounds with fire. Dawn got up and dragged Ash over to Rapidash, using all of her strength to pull him onto Rapidash's saddle, feeling the other side of her body being coated with blood as Ash's body slumped onto her back.

Rapidash ran at full speed, ignoring the pain in her hooves as she head to wherever was furthest away from the Cloyster bridge. The friendly Cloyster used Protect as the other Cloyster bombarded him from all sides. In the end, the friendly Cloyster had no regrets and agreed that he had lived a good life as he tried to use Protect again and failing, only able to see spikes and beams from every angle. Torrents of water rose from the explosion below the ocean, but in the end the Cloysters ended up losing. With the bridge being destroyed, no one would fall into the deathtrap that the Cloysters had set. It would only be after many years that the Cloysters would abandon their forsaken post.

* * *

**I know it may seem weird to you that Dawn's become suddenly proficient in wielding something she had never seen until now, which will be explained later on. **


	9. A Step Forward

**September 14**

* * *

Misty's fingernail tapped against the wooden table of the room, evenly spaced like a metronome. The room was so quiet that her tapping actually sounded loud enough to be painful. No one bothered to tell her to stop, regardless of how annoying the sound had become.

Misty's patience was thinning, not only that, but the fact that Ash and Dawn were late was beginning to worry her. In her mental solitude, she couldn't help but let her imagination concoct horrific scenarios of the both of them getting attacked by Pokemon. Not only that, but if they weren't being attacked by Pokemon, Dawn could be taking the opportunity of being alone with Ash and trying to advance her relationship with him.

"THAT'S NOT FAIR" Misty blurted out loudly to no one in particular, slamming her fist against the wooden table, making all of its contents jitter along the surface. The sudden noise had made everyone jump and look at her.

Misty blushed, "Sorry…I just…forget it."

The others nodded silently and didn't press her for it, going back to their personal tasks at hand. It had been a day since they arrived at Duplica's house, the Pokeglov had predicted Ash's arrival by morning, but it was now currently noon.

* * *

James surveyed his remaining collection of bottle caps that he had brought with him. He had dreamed a few days ago that bottle caps would be the new currency for the struggling survivors of the world.

"If that were true, then I would be rich," James sighed, staring at his collection. Jessie had reprimanded him for bringing something as useless as bottle caps with him on their journey. He had argued that the bottle caps were lightweight and small, causing no hindrance for the team.

James only wanted to keep them merely for sentimental value, just as Misty had brought the authentic Cascade Badge with her. His hobby had started when he was a child at the mansion with Growlie. His parents loved to host parties and balls, leading to the end result of being dozens of bottle caps to various beers all over the floor.

He was tasked with picking them up along with the servants, so to pass the time he made a game of it and grew fond of the different designs and colors. It was then that James thought about his parents and Growlie. Wondering if the mansion still stood, but quickly reminding himself that there was a definite chance that everyone was dead, and his old home had toppled.

The thought didn't bother him too much; the idea that his parents were dead and his house was obliterated. He had long ago forsaken his parents and his home; his new family lied with Meowth and Jessie. One thing that did sadden him was the possibility that Growlie could be dead as well.

Duplica was busy watching her Ditto briefly touch everyone's Pokemon that had been summoned from their Pokeglovs. The amount of Pokemon that had been added to her arsenal was a total of twelve. Misty had promised that if she joined them to go meet with the others, her Ditto would be able to transform into forty other Pokemon.

* * *

Samurai remained outside, practicing his swings and stances in the open field. He closed his eyes, exhaling gently and surprised by what he saw. The sound of his heartbeat, of his breath escaping his lungs seemed to illuminate the darkness behind his eyelids.

It was like watching the ripples of a droplet hit the still surface of a lake, wherever the ripples passed, the more the world around Samurai was revealed. He could see the fields of grass around him, swaying in the gentle breeze. The sound of Misty's tapping allowed him to visualize the room, watching as Duplica copied everyone's Pokemon, James counting his bottle cap collection, Misty fume, and Jessie attempt to make lunch.

This new experience fascinated Samurai, to be able to see with his eyes closed. Samurai wondered whether his training had brought this about, his father had never mentioned anything like this happening after attaining a certain level of skill in fights. Then again, his father had never mentioned the ability to slash hard enough to create a vacuum and use the air as a blade.

Samurai wondered if this ability came from the blade, his training, or himself. He kept his eyes closed, feeling a breeze blow over him. Samurai stared in awe behind his closed eyelids at what he saw. He could see the air currents pass over his arms like miniature rivers flowing through the air.

Samurai opened his eyes, the rivers disappearing and reappearing once he closed his eyes again. He watched the air streams swirl around the extent of his katana. Samurai quickly realized that seeing the air currents and seeing the area around him through sound required no concentration.

"I guess this rules out training as an explanation," Samurai muttered, narrowing down the list of explanations to why he had these new abilities to his katana and himself. Samurai stabbed the blade into the ground, holding out his arms and closing his eyes. He saw the current once again, swirling around his arms.

"_That just leaves…me_," Samurai concluded, grabbing his sword once more. He stared at the wind rivers, nearly mesmerized by the helix of air that spun around his weapon. It was then that he noticed how the streams flowed around his blade faster when he placed all of his focus on them.

After several minutes, Samurai began to notice that he could change the flow of the air currents around his sword. The wind streams no longer spun around it, but instead ran along the edge. Samurai moved his blade slightly, causing the wind currents to disperse and return to their normal flow.

Samurai continued to experiment with this newfound discovery, wondering what he would find if he continued to pursue it.

It took a little practice, but Samurai eventually managed to get the flow of the air to stay aligned with his blade while he moved it. After more practice, he could swing his blade at full speed while still maintaining the air current on the katana's edge. In the open plains, he had no real way to test what having the air current flow through the blade's edge did, if it even made it stronger or faster in some way. He refrained from testing at the moment, lest he damage the mansion in some way.

* * *

Misty, James, and Jessie returned all of their Pokemon back to their Pokeballs, both of Duplica's Dittos melding onto her and becoming part of her outfit. Misty opened up the map on her Pokeglov, seeing the dots that represented Ash and Dawn heading towards them.

"They're so close, they're almost here!" Misty said, heading outside and gaining the attention of everyone in the room. Everyone followed her outside, seeing Samurai waiting for them and staring in the direction where Ash and Dawn were supposed to come. Samurai didn't tell them, but he had noticed their approach.

He couldn't visualize them from sound alone since they were so far away. He knew there were three heartbeats, one of them abnormally fast, one of them so weak that he barely caught it, and the last one was also very fast, but not as much as the first. They were approaching quickly, faster than anything Samurai could've achieved at full strength.

It was once they got closer that Samurai was able to visualize their image, shocked by what he saw, the smell managing to reach his nostrils from miles away.

"Samurai, are you okay?" Duplica inquired, seeing Samurai visibly shiver in his armor.

"Misty, they need help" Samurai yelled, running over, picking up Misty as if she weighed nothing and bursting towards Ash's direction. The others were astounded by the speed of their comrade in the heavy armor, carrying someone in his arms no less. Misty couldn't help but scream and go along with the ride, amazed that Samurai could move so quickly.

Misty's gaze turned to see a Rapidash heading towards them, two figures riding on it. Samurai came to an abrupt stop, the Rapidash only a few meters away from them. Rapidash never finished closing the distance, her legs buckling underneath her as she toppled over to the side.

Dawn screamed, holding onto Ash for dear life as he fell on top of her, cushioned from the fall. Misty ran over to them, her face going pale at the sight of a spike skewering Ash through his midsection. His face was as pale as paper, blood pouring profusely from the wound.

"MISTY! SUMMON CHANSEY" Samurai bellowed, stabbing his blade into the ground and anchoring himself to one spot with sheer willpower.

Misty took a few seconds to respond, the word Chansey reminding her that she had the power to save Ash. Misty screamed Chansey's name into the Pokeglov, she was already sobbing and had to repeat herself several times until the computer recognized what Pokemon she was trying to summoned through her blubbering and slurred speech.

Chansey appeared, well aware of the situation and already preparing her Soft-boiled move. Dawn was already passed out, as was Rapidash with pools of blood coming from each hoof. The ball of light pressed against Ash's chest once Chansey pulled him off of Dawn and set him beside her, the spike being pushed out of Ash's body upon contact.

Ash's spine was reconnected, his blood quickly being replenished, his skin, organs, and muscles regrowing and knitting themselves back together. The color quickly returned to Ash's cheeks, but he did not stir. Chansey moved onto Dawn and Rapidash, Dawn's hair was caked in blood along with her outfit while Rapidash had sections of skin missing entirely, revealing the raw hide to world.

Misty was too focused on the others heal to notice Samurai panting heavily in the background, his entire body trembling and eventually ceasing when everyone was healed.

Misty ran over to Ash, placing her ear onto his chest, crying harder from happiness when she heard a strong heartbeat.

Had Samurai not gone to intercept Rapidash, Ash would've died by the time they had come to the mansion

* * *

Ash's eyes fluttered open, the rays of light shining over him and piercing the darkness behind his eyelids that aided in his slumber. The first thing he saw was the ceiling above him.

"Another unfamiliar ceiling" Ash mumbled, remembering back to the first time he had experienced something like this back at Misty's gym.

"_How did I get here_?" Ash mused, remembering the escape from the Cloyster bridge. The phantom sensations of the pain in his chest quickly reminded Ash of what he had done.

"I really have to stop throwing myself in the way of lethal attacks" Ash grunted as he tried to get up. The covers of the bed he was on slipped from him, revealing his bare chest that bared no scars. Two gentle and soft hands pressed onto his shoulders and moved him back onto the bed. Ash looked up and saw Misty's caring face; she met no resistance as she pulled the sheets back up to his throat, tucking it under the chin.

"You shouldn't move around just yet, you need to rest. Besides, you're naked. We washed your clothes and Jessie and James stitching them up as we speak" Misty explained, walking around Ash's bed and standing at over him at the side of the bed.

"Is Dawn alright?" Ash asked, hoping that his sacrifice wasn't in vain.

"She's fine, she's taking a bath since she was covered in your blood" Misty informed.

She stayed at the side of Ash's bed momentarily before swinging her leg over the bed.

"M-Misty?" Ash said, his eyes widening while Misty's arms landed beside his head on the bed. Ash began to blush, gulping as he watched Misty's entire face turn into several shades of red. Ash's heart was beating just as fast as when Kaiza had been shooting at him.

"W-W-What're you doing?" Ash stuttered, Misty's face lowering down with the rest of her body as she mounted him. Ash's mind stirred like an angry Trapinch hill that was just kicked open. There were so many things going through his head, a small part of him remembering that Dawn said that Misty also liked him.

This was a side of Misty that he had never seen before, he wasn't sure if he was ready for it. His entire body was growing hot, the only thing between his body and her's were the bed sheets.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Misty whispered in an angrily and embarrassed tone, her heated breath caressing Ash's face. Ash felt paralyzed, his body incapable of moving at all while Misty drew so close to his face, so much that their noses were now touching.

"W-Why?"

"I thought I'd lost you, and one of us or even both of us might die in the near future and I want to have been able to do this with you before something like that ever happens"

"Mi-Mi-Misty…I-I-I" Ash tried to speak, forgetting what he was going to say in the first place.

"Just shut up and kiss me" Misty commanded testily, tilting her head to a side and closing her eyes. Ash was going to talk again when Misty silenced him with her lips, her hands slid across the fabric of the bed and cupping the sides of his cheeks. The first thing that had popped into Ash mind was a single word.

"_Soft_."

Misty's hands traveled to the back of his head, pulling him deeper into the kiss. She broke the kiss, each of them gasping. Both of them had almost forgotten the concept of needing to breathe, leaving them panting after their first kiss. Misty's cheek grazed against Ash's cheek, her hot breath blowing into Ash's ear and making his mind go numb.

"How's that for a wake up call, Ashy boy?" a voice said from behind the bed, the Misty that was currently mounting him began to turn pink.

Within a few seconds a Ditto lied on his lap, staring blankly at him for a few seconds before sliding off the bed and heading over to its master. Ash was mortified, wanting nothing more than to die at that very moment. Duplica started laughing so much that her arms were wrapped around her stomach from the pain.

"Wow, I never thought that Misty could be so bold" Duplica giggled uncontrollably.

Ash was at a loss for words, gawking at Duplica when he turned his head, turning away from her rapidly, his blood beginning to boil and making his face feel like it was burning from the shame and anger he felt. His nails dug into his palms, his entire body beginning to noticably tremble.

"If you're angry about the kiss, then don't worry about it. A Pokemon kissing a human on the lips doesn't count as your first kiss" Duplica assured, but Ash wasn't convinced. "If it's any consolation to you, with its dampeners off, Ditto can turn into and perfectly act like the person that it's been in contact with. Had Misty been given the chance, she would've acted and said the exact same things," Duplica unveiled.

Ash turned angrily towards Duplica, only to find that she was now starting to blush. She had seen everything happen, but that wasn't the reason she had grown to be embarrassed.

"You really should cover up more, I didn't think Ditto would've excited you that much" Duplica suggested, averting her eyes from Ash and pointing to his lower extremities. Ash looked back down at the lower half of his body still covered by the bed sheets and quickly grabbed his pillow and slammed it into this lap.

"I don't mind lending you Ditto until you get your clothes back" Duplica offered.

"Why? Why did you do it?" Ash growled.

"It was a joke. I wanted Ditto to have a copy of you, which only requires a touch, but it didn't seem like any fun to make physical contact with you in your sleep. If I knew Misty's would've acted like she did in that scenario and make you angry, then I wouldn't have done it. I'm sorry" Duplica apologized. New questions arose concerning Ditto, but Ash banished them to the back of his mind until later and focused on his rage at being so deceived.

The silence was interrupted by the sound of snarling stomach, betraying his current mood and making the room go quiet again for a few seconds before Duplica began giggling again.

"Looks like someone's hungry. How about we have a meal and get some food into your stomach before you start plotting your revenge"

"SHUT UP!" Ash roared.

Duplica sighed and pointed at Ash, Ditto slid over to him and touched his hand for a moment before latching onto his wrist. Ash was surprised by the sudden action, mesmerized as Ditto changed color, texture, and shape as it elongated across his arm, chest, finally his legs. Once Ash was sure that his lower half was covered, he hopped out of bed, surprised to see that he was now wearing jeans, a black shirt, a blue over shirt, green fingerless gloves, white and blue sneakers, and his old red and white cap.

The outfit brought back many old memories for Ash.

"Sorry if you don't like that outfit, it's the first thing that Ditto remembers about you. But at least it's not the exact size of when you were four years younger, otherwise this would be a tight fit" Duplica pointed out.

"This is fine and all, but do you mean Ditto can change to whatever outfit I want to wear?" Ash inquired in a low, cold tone.

"From a Speedo to a suit of armor, Ditto can do it all. If you want to change your outfit, just visualize the outfit in your head. Ditto can pick up the bioelectric signals from being so close to your spine that leads to areas of your brain that deal with memories. You don't have to perfectly visualize everything since Ditto can fill in some of the blanks" Duplica explained happily, despite Ash's piercing glares.

Ash closed his eyes and concentrated, feeling his outfit turn gelatinous on his skin and mold itself into a different shape. When he opened his eyes he saw that he was wearing Sir Aaron's outfit with a cape, hat, and all, minus the staff.

"Just so you know, Ditto has limits to the kinds of clothes it can become. Having the hat and the cape is the limit to Ditto's clothing ability. If you want accessories like weapons, then I usually have Minidit take care of that" Duplica informed Ash as he turned his outfit back into his old Kanto ensemble.

"You mean the tiny Ditto we saw you with in Johto?" Ash asked in a monotone manner.

"Yep, the one and the same. It still can't turn into full sized Pokemon, but it can turn into full sized items that aren't too big, like a sword or a staff" Duplica explained.

There was a knock on the door, Duplica going over and opening it.

"You're clothes are ready Ash" James and Jessie said as they came in with Meowth who had been released from Dawn's Pokeglov.

Ash walked over to them and took his clothes back, seeing the chest area of his shirt stitched up rather nicely.

"I didn't think you guys knew how to sow, this is something I expected Brock to fix" Ash admitted, his attitude changing noticeably around them.

"Well after having to make up so many outfits-" James began.

"And making repairs on the rips in the Meowth balloon-" Jessie continued.

"It comes wit da territory," Meowth concluded.

"That finishing-each-other's-sentences thing is kinda creepy. Do you practice it or something?" Ash confessed

"Well after saying a motto for about…500-"

"600" Jessie corrected.

"Around 600 times, you tend to do that with about everything else. It's like a twin thing" James finished.

"Well…anyway, thanks for the clothes," Jessie, James, and Meowth quickly scuttled out of the room, Duplica joining them to give Ash his privacy while he changed.

* * *

Once the door was closed the ex Rocket members began heading downstairs towards the kitchen while Duplica leaned against the wall beside the door.

Duplica stood leaning against the wall right next to the door, seeing her Ditto slip through the cracks underneath the door and come to her side. She couldn't help but be surprised by how much Misty was into Ash, and from Dawn's reaction, Duplica assumed that Dawn was attracted to Ash as well.

"I guess that could happen to anyone if you travel with someone for so long" Duplica sighed.

"Ah, to be young and in love" James commented as soon as he thought he was out of earshot. Jessie, James, and Meowth had been standing outside the door when the prank had started, not wanting to interrupt just yet.

"It's kind of cute. Remember the first time they were alone in the blimp after Brock had left the group in the Orange Islands" Jessie asked.

"Oh you're right! We locked them up in a cage!" James replied.

* * *

Samurai had been outside but had heard the entire affair occur with his heightened hearing. The second Ash's heartbeat became accelerated, Samurai had become aware of it. When he focused on the room, he was instantly confused since he didn't feel any heartbeat from the figure on top of Ash taking the form of Misty. He also sensed Duplica's presence in the room and quickly understood the situation. Regardless of his training, and the fact that he knew that it wasn't the real thing, Samurai couldn't help but blush.

* * *

Ash had quickly adorned all of his clothing, standing alone in the center of the empty room. Ash's body trembled with fury, wanting nothing more than to punch and destroy something, but unable to do so. He wanted to scream, but decided not to risk drawing the attention to himself. Ash looked around, finding no way for him to vent save destroying the room he had slept in and punch holes in the walls. The anger was not as intense as the utter hatred he felt for the Spearow and Fearow, but still quite potent.

"I shouldn't get too angry, this isn't the first time that a Pokemon has kissed me" Ash reassured himself, thinking about Latias in Altomare.

"**_This is different! It felt so real! Did I want it to be real? I guess I did. Is that how Misty really feels about me or did Ditto only do it because Duplica asked it to?"_** Ash's fists trembled, he breathed deeply until he managed to bring his rage to a simmer, but still remained very volatile.

* * *

Duplica flinched when Ash suddenly opened the door; he wore a surprised and annoyed look at the fact that Duplica was still around him.

"How long have I been out" Ash asked frigidly, hoping that he wouldn't become comfortable with asking that question.

"Just a day" Duplica said calmly, leading Ash down the stairs through the vaguely remembered house he had ventured through so many years ago. At the table was James, and Meowth. Dawn and Misty were still blushing while Jessie was making breakfast and Samurai was still outside training.

Ash quickly looked around seeing that Pikachu, Brock, AJ, Tracy, Sabrina, Samurai, and Surge were not in the room with the others. The idea that they were still out there began to make him worry; he made his way to one of the seats at the breakfast table and sat.

Dawn, Misty, and Jessie were at the table while James was over in the kitchen standing over something sizzling since it was now his turn to cook. Brock had taught Jessie, Misty, and Dawn how to cook during the time they had spent together in case a situation such as the one they were in now where they were all separated were to happen. James had known how to cook long before any of them, being a jack-of-all-trades.

"I'm guessing that you already told them what happened to us on the way here?" Ash inquired. Dawn nodded, but didn't tell Ash the fact that she hadn't told them everything, such as what transpired in the barn where Rapidash was.

"So what's the plan?" Ash asked, looking at everyone in the room. Jessie was looking over the weapons that he and Dawn and scavenged from Kaiza, whistling in approval. Ditto had already touched them and added to Duplica's projectile arsenal. Jessie was deciding whether or not he should have the weapons divided amongst the group while he polished them.

"We're gonna hafta travel on foot for now, I think Rapidash has earned herself a good long rest" Misty said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Duplica, if you're gonna come with us, start getting necessary supplies like food and medicine. Try not to bring too many unnecessary things that'll weigh you down, I want to leave within the next hour or two if that's possible" Ash announced

"Okay, Ashy boy" Duplica replied before turning and heading into the hallway and out of sight.

"And Duplica..." Ash said without even turning in her general direction.

"What?"

"Don't call me Ashy boy" Ash spat viciously, just enough to let her know how much the pet name irritated him, but also enough to keep Dawn and Misty from asking questions about it. The only other person that had called him by that had been Gary, probably still in Sinnoh.

Duplica remained silent, all that could be heard were her footsteps echoing down the hall, turning softer until it was silent once more.

Misty and Dawn couldn't help but be reminded of when Tracy had said something similar to Misty when they had established themselves in the Cerulean gym. The tone was cold and dry, what he asked was not a suggestion nor a favor, but more like a warning.

"Ash, is everything alright" Misty asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Perfectly fine" Ash said, almost through gritted teeth.

Misty got up from her chair, walking behind Ash and giving him a hug, fighting away the stray tears that began to well up in her eyes.

"I'm really happy that you're alive and well now, you had me so worried" Misty whispered into Ash's ear making Ash tense up.

"Me too" Dawn added in.

Ash instantly remembered the conversation he'd had with Dawn in the barn, staring into Dawn's that were full of sincerity and hearing Misty's heartfelt words.

"_They both like me. What should I do? Sabrina likes me as well. I like them too...but I don't know if I like Misty as more than just a friend. Dawn's still to young, but I don't know if I should tell them how I feel about this kind of thing. Should I wait until Sabrina's here too? How would she react? This is so hard_!"

Ash's train of thought was instantly broken when another figure entered the room, Ash quickly recognizing him as Samurai.

"It's nice to see you well again, Ash" Samurai expressed before heading back out to the open fields.

"Nice to see you too, Samurai" Ash's words quickly falling on deaf ears with Samurai seemingly out of earshot.

Ash turned to Dawn, "If Samurai's here, then does that mean the others are here too, like Pikachu?" Ash asked, a small flicker of hope in his voice.

Misty released Ash from her embrace as Dawn answered, "Sorry Ash. This is everyone. We think that Pikachu might be with Tracy or with Brock since they're the only people with Pokeglovs. Surge and AJ might be with the Pikachu as well. There's a good chance that Pikachu will probably be with the others from the way that Sabrina teleported us, and even he's not, he could probably find them through their scent."

Ash sighed, hating the fact that he and Pikachu had separated for so long and with no sure way to find him. He would search the entire other half of the continent if he needed to so that he could find Pikachu again. not having Pikachu around felt like a large part of him were missing.

Ash looked at the guns on the table and shifted his gaze back to Dawn.

"Dawn, what the hell was that back there on the bridge?"

"What d'ya mean?"

"The way you fired those guns…it's like you were a pro with them. We weren't hitting a single damn thing before, we were terrible shots."

"We were riding Rapidash. Not exactly the smoothest ride we've had" Dawn countered.

"Still, we never practiced with those guns on anything"

"I see your point though. I don't know what came over me. It's…It's like I knew where to aim automatically, it felt so right, so natural" Dawn confessed.

Ash nodded, he had felt the same way when he had wielded the Thunderbolt. Somehow he had been able to shoot two of the grenades he'd had perfectly, one in mid-air, and one from a distance. Not only that, but the way he had deflected some of the spikes aimed for them and maneuvered through the streams of water that would have diced him.

"Yeah, I felt the same way…it's just weird though."

* * *

Within the next hour, everyone stood at the entrance of the Duplica's mansion, the house of Imitate. Ash had made Duplica's Ditto and Minidit make copies of all the Pokemon in his Pokeglov. Duplica had taken all of the things she considered essential and held them in her Ditto backpack. She told them all that she didn't mind leaving her house, since everything in there could be formed by her Dittos.

Regardless of what she said, Ash knew that she would miss her home that had held memories and experiences for her, something that the Dittos could not morph into. Just the way that she stood and stared at her house was enough of a giveaway to her true feelings, not that Ash cared about them.

"Duplica?" Misty said with concern.

Duplica turned before Misty could say another word, wiping a small tear from her eye.

"It's alright. Don't worry about me; it's just a house. Now that people will no longer come there to be entertained by my Dittos and me, there's no point in living in it. I shouldn't be getting worked up over it" Duplica said with a smile.

Misty walked over to her and gave her a hug; at that point, Duplica couldn't hold back the tears. She hugged Misty back, trying to dry her tears on Misty's yellow outfit as little as possible. Misty lovingly stroked Duplica's hair and calmly recited the words, "it'll be alright."

Everyone waited patiently until she finished crying, once she stopped, she chuckled embarrassedly, "Well, I'm glad I got that off my chest. Sorry about the drama."

The others gave a brief nod and a smile; Ash had averted his gaze the entire time, annoyed that she had wasted their time with her crying.

"Is everyone ready then?" Ash asked the group, sounding as if nothing had happened when he turned around to see them. Samurai had sheathed his sword and gave curt nod. Dawn had tied her hair back in a ponytail, still holstering the weapons on her thighs and back. She smiled at Ash, a determined and fiery willfulness radiated from her as her hands rested on the handguns. Misty, James, Jessie, Duplica, and Meowth gave Ash a thumbs up.

Ash turned around and took a deep breath, Misty pointing in the direction of the dot that symbolized someone from their group with her intact Pokeglov. He couldn't promise Duplica that they would visit her home again, he couldn't even promise himself that he would make it back alive to his hometown.

He didn't know whether they would have time, or a way to make it back, but he knew that he would try to make it back as well as survive. That's what pushed him forward, what motivated him to live and survive. With that and the thought of reuniting himself with the others, after a second or two, Ash was the first to take a step forward.**  
**


	10. Such Sweet Sorrow

**September 16

* * *

**

Brock leaned against a tree; Sandslash stood by him and watched as Pikachu was teaching Raichu how to use Iron Tail. Raichu's Iron Tail would be stronger than Pikachu's seeing as the reach of his tail longer and deadlier with the thunderbolt-like edge at end of it. The downside was that it was slower than Pikachu's, but compensated for the fact that it was more flexible than Pikachu's short and rigid tail.

They had been practicing on trees and had taken it a step further by practicing on boulders that were courtesy of Sandslash. Sandslash suddenly felt the vibrations of several figures heading in their direction. Pikachu and Raichu both raised their heads, taking in the new scents that were entering their range. Raichu's head slumped down in disappointment at the lack of his master's scent among the group.

Pikachu gave a light rub on Raichu's shoulder, the most he could think of as consolation. He tried to contain his joy at the smell of Ash's scent, bursting off in the group's direction as quickly as he could. Sandslash stayed by Brock's side as did Raichu eventually.

Sandslash could tell from the ground vibrations that his master was not among the group of people that was coming in their direction. He had already memorized the vibrations of everyone's footsteps; each was unique like a fingerprint. They would just have to wait until Ash, Pikachu, and the rest of the group came to them, except for one of them that Sandslash merely concluded as a new addition to their group of survivors.

It was after a few minutes that the bushes rustled and Ash was the first to appear. Raichu also recognized Ash's scent, but noticed that there was the faint smell of blood around him and the girl with the blue hair.

"Brock! It's so great to see you" Ash said, running over and offering his hand for a high five. Brock high fived him back, smiling at the sight of everyone appearing behind Ash and in one piece.

"It seems as though you've found another survivor," Brock pointed at, staring at Duplica.

"Oh, her. Yeah" Ash mumbled, keeping his back towards Duplica. Brock watched as Duplica's shoulders subtly slumped. Misty ran over and gave Brock a hug as did Dawn. Brock felt something press him when Dawn hugged him, looking down to see that Dawn had two guns holstered by straps around her thighs. "Seems as though I've missed a few things while you guys were gone" Brock commented as he stared at the guns the group was holding.

Jessie had a shotgun strapped to her back; James had come into the possession of the Thunderbolt once Ash reunited with Pikachu. Misty carried the submachine gun while Ash and Samurai refused to even touch any of the weapons, leaving Dawn with the two handguns.

"We've got a lot to tell you" Misty said as she released Brock from her embrace.

* * *

Over the next few hours, Brock and the others filled each other in one what had been going on while they were away from each other. It was Dawn's turn to cook and impress Brock on how much her cooking had improved. When they asked how Brock had sustained himself for the past two days, he told them that he had been living off the surrounding berries.

They had also asked him if anything interesting had happened to him, like finding survivors or warding off any wild Pokemon, he gave a brief glance at Pikachu, Raichu, and Sandslash before looking back at them and saying that absolutely nothing interesting had happened and that it had been a boring and uneventful two days.

Once dinner had finished, Brock openly commented on the meal that Dawn had prepared for them, congratulating and thanking her for the meal. The rest of the night was spent sleeping in the woods. Once everyone was asleep, Brock crept out of bed and headed over to Duplica's Ditto sleeping bag. Duplica turned towards him before he could wake her up, noting the surprise on her face.

"Oh, hey Brock. I thought you were Ash" Duplica said, downcast.

"About that. Care to tell me what happened?" Brock asked.

Duplica nodded and told him the story, Brock sat there nodding. Once she was done, Brock gave a low whistle.

"Wow, I would've never thought that Misty had it in her…they're growing up so fast" Brock sighed dotingly.

"I didn't know Misty was into Ash either. I only wanted to show Ash how Ditto could transform into other people as a joke. If I knew that Misty would've gone that far with him…I wouldn't have done it in the first place. When Misty started doing those things, I couldn't help but watch, it was like she was a completely different person. I told Ditto to turn back when I said Ashy boy; when I finally remembered, it was too late" Duplica explained.

"I understand, you never intended for that to happen. I'll talk with Ash about this and this'll be settled"

"Thanks Brock" Duplica sighed.

"Get to bed, we might have a busy day tomorrow" Brock said, heading back to his sleeping bag. Duplica nodded, turning away once more and slipping off into a deep slumber.

* * *

Once morning broke the darkness of the night, they began to pack up and head towards the last signal where the Pokeglov that belonged to Tracy was.

Pikachu was the first to notice that their campground had been surrounded from all sides. Everyone's summoned Pokemon began to tense up, their owners noticing the change in their demeanor, knowing full well what it meant after so many battles. Slowly, from the bushes emerged dozens of Pikachu.

Sandslash smirked, silently planning to exact his pent up frustration towards Ash's Pikachu on these weaker ones were they to attack them. The silence was nerve-wracking. One of the Pikachu approached; once closer, Samurai realized that what he assumed was the alpha Pikachu of the group, was actually scared.

"Pi-pika-pi. Pikaa-chu pika…chu" the alpha Pikachu said.

"Meowth, what does it want" Jessie asked.

Meowth was just about to translate when Raichu's tail stabbed right into the ground before him, directly between his feet. A small jolt of electricity ran down the length of Raichu's tail, going into the ground safely, the current making Meowth's hair stand on end and making him begin to sweat.

"Rai" Raichu merely said while staring at the alpha Pikachu.

"Well Meowth?" James inquired.

"I…uh…" Meowth wondered what to say after Raichu had just told him to say nothing and made it very clear that he was not to be disobeyed.

Samurai gasped silently, no one noticed him from behind the group. The reason for his surprise was that he had actually understood what the alpha Pikachu had said.

"_Is this what Ash and Surge go through when they talk to their Pokemon? Why can I suddenly understand them_?"

Meowth wondered why he was not being allowed to translate that the Pikachu's had said, "Are you the ones that created the devastation to the forest one moon ago?" Now that he had been denied it, he now wanted to know more about what the Pikachu's were talking about.

"Yes, that was me" Ash's Pikachu stated, stepping forward to face the alpha Pikachu.

Sandslash stepped up as well, "I was also responsible. This Pikachu and I were sparring. I apologize if we've damaged your homes" Sandslash apologized.

"You didn't destroy our…sparring? The devastation you created was sparring?" the Alpha Pikachu gawked at them.

James and Jessie continued to stare at Meowth, still expecting a translation. Everyone else felt awkward at the conversation that was going on around them that they couldn't understand. Eventually, with the exception of two pairs of eyes, everyone began staring at Meowth, making him feel more uncomfortable.

Meowth could say nothing, if he spoke in Pokemon, the others would know that something was up, if he spoke human then the same would happen. He began to look at Raichu for answers. Raichu quickly took notice of Meowth's situation, breaking his attention away from the conversation between the alpha Pikachu and Ash's Pikachu with Sandslash.

"Just tell them that this is a territory dispute and that Pikachu and Sandslash are settling it diplomatically," Raichu said without looking at Meowth. Meowth recited the lie word for word, calming the others instantly. He looked around, seeing that the Pikachu that surrounded them were also just as afraid as the alpha Pikachu.

The more that Meowth listened, the more that he realized that Brock had actually lied to everyone. Something had occurred while Brock had been left alone with Raichu, Pikachu, and Sandslash. Whatever they had done, it had made everything in a ten-mile radius afraid to even go near them. The way they were heading was straight through a colony of Pikachu's who rather than leave their homes, wanted to see if they could reason with the ones responsible for the destruction.

Meowth quickly noticed that all the Pikachu were afraid of Sandslash, Raichu, and Pikachu. At the news that there was no intention of more destruction, the Pikachu visibly relaxed and smiled.

Ash felt that the Pikachu currently surrounding him were the same Pikachu that he had planned to leave with near the beginning of his journey with Pikachu. He had thought that Pikachu would've been happier and better off staying with his own kind. In the end, Pikachu decided to stay with Ash, neither of them regretting that decision.

Ash's Pikachu explained their own situations to the other Pikachu, also reminding them that they had met before. Every Pikachu surrounding them began to bow, in acknowledgement to the power that they had displayed on the other day. Sandslash tried to not let the praise get to his ego, Ash's Pikachu smiled and told them the praise was not necessary.

Meowth quickly lied and said that the bowing was a Pikachu custom to symbolize peace. Ash stared questioningly at Meowth, Brock scoffed, and Samurai coughed silently behind the group. The Pikachu gave advice and suggestions that would help aid them on their journey. This time it was Ash's Pikachu's turn to bow, surprising the other Pikachu.

Ash's Pikachu expressed his appreciation for the help and hoped that they all enjoyed lives of peace. The wild Pikachu thanked Ash's Pikachu for the kindness he had shown; offering their services should their paths ever cross in the future. Once the conversation had concluded, the wild Pikachu's darted away from sight and into the forest all at once.

"That was weird" Dawn commented, her hands relaxing their grip off her guns.

"I'm glad we were able to settle that peacefully" Misty exhaled, her hand raising up to her chest, pressing against her rapidly beating heart as if to calm it down.

"I guess that's that," James said, picking up his bag waiting for the others to begin walking. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder as he began to walk, stealthily allowing the others to walk past him as he migrated to the end of the group where Samurai was.

Misty took notice, finding it odd that Ash who naturally always walked ahead of them was now behind them. Brock took notice as well, staring at Misty who sent him a concerned glance. With a nod to Misty, Brock also began to slow down, stopping next to Duplica before proceeding.

"Duplica, seeing as there's only wild Pikachu's in the area that are friendly, maybe you could liven up the mood somehow," Brock suggested.

"Sure, I could show them my new imitations" Duplica offered.

"That would be perfect, Duplica" Brock said before slipping back through the group until he was behind with Ash and Samurai.

"What's on your mind, Ash?" Brock asked innocently.

"You lied to us. You said nothing happened when you were alone with Pikachu and the others. The other Pikachu's said differently" Ash pointed out. Pikachu and Brock were both surprised; Samurai was not as shocked.

"Ash, what're you talking about?" Brock replied, trying to sound as calm as possible and without giving away anything.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Those Pikachu were talking about something that happened two days ago, they were afraid of Pikachu and the other two; Pikachu even took responsibility for what happened. What're you trying to cover up?" Ash whispered angrily.

"What're you saying Ash? That you can understand Pokemon?" Brock replied accusingly.

"I…I don't know. I just understood what they were saying for some reason," Ash confessed.

"Since when did you start understanding Pokemon?" Brock asked.

"I think when the-don't think you can change the subject!" Ash abruptly reverted back to the topic that had been at hand.

"Wait! I thought that you were always somehow able to understand Pokemon. I've watched you and Surge converse with Raichu and Pikachu as if you knew what they were saying" Samurai interjected.

"When I talked with Pikachu, I usually just…felt what he was saying. I don't know how to explain it" Ash explained, struggling with the words.

"But your responses looked almost accurate to what your Pokemon was talking about" Samurai pointed out.

"They're just feelings. I've never questioned whether my responses were right or not, Pikachu's never…you're changing the subject again. I want to know what happened and why you were hiding it?" Ash ordered.

Brock sighed, looking at Pikachu to see if it would be all right with it, Pikachu nodded.

"Alright, you win Ash. Pikachu and Sandslash had a sparring match to pass the time and it got out of hand," Brock confessed.

Ash glowered at Brock, expecting more. Brock sighed and decided to continue unveiling just enough information until Ash was satisfied.

"Sandslash used some really strong ground moves that affected anything within a few miles of it. That's probably what scared the Pokemon" Brock mitigated.

"Why did Pikachu admit that he was the cause of the destruction then?" Ash continued his interrogation.

"Pikachu's the one that suggested that they spar, it went a little overboard but they eventually stopped" Brock said, reminding himself that he technically wasn't lying.

"How bad was it? Everything looks find around here" Ash commented, looking around and seeing that the surrounding forest was still intact.

"It was far away from here, there's no point in seeing it. We would just be wasting time. Besides, the lava already cooled" Brock said, attempting to console Ash.

"Lava!" Ash hissed.

"Dammit" Brock swore, chastising himself for letting that tidbit of info leak.

"How the hell does lava fit into sparring?" Ash growled.

"That's what I meant when things went a little overboard when Sandslash started using a lot of earth moves. I cooled it down with Swampert. Besides, what's done is done. You can't change what happened," Brock concluded, Ash begrudgingly let the subject go, but he was not happy about it.  


* * *

It was the late afternoon once they reached their destination, a wooden sign with the black words.

**Dark City**

Ash had Misty and Brock had been here before near the beginning of his journey. The city he saw looked like it did when he first saw it, if not even worse that what his memories held. The houses were destroyed and desolate, practically nothing was standing anymore.

The houses appeared charred from fires and sliced into splinters. There were neither bodies nor bloodstains that painted the street. The whole town seemed completely void of all life.

"What would Tracy be doing here?" Misty whispered.

"Hold on, look over there?" Brock said, pointing to the far end of the town, surprised that they hadn't noticed the tallest building in the town as the only one standing. The scene of destruction had stolen all attention from the building, making it the last thing that was noticed.

Sandslash and Raichu suddenly perked up, the quills on Sandslash's back shivering with joy. Raichu cried out, sending a bolt of lightning into the air to catch his master's attention. Two figures exited from the building, running towards them at full speed.

Raichu and Sandslash also ran, crashing into the embraces of their masters. Ash and the others watched the heartwarming scene, lasting almost an entire minute before AJ and Surge came over to greet them.

"Great ta see you're all in one piece" Surge laughed, slamming his monster sized hand onto Ash's shoulder, making his legs almost give out and dislocating his arm.

"What took you so long?" AJ said jokingly.

"Sabrina got us separated when she teleported us into different groups and behind one another, so we had to weight until everyone was caught up and we could come here as a group" Misty explained.

"Where is she, I outta give her a piece of my mind" Surge said, cracking his knuckles and remembering the situation they were put in when they reformed from the teleportation. The others looked at Surge blankly as he looked throughout the group for someone who wasn't there.

"I can see you've got a new girl, but where's Sabrina?" Surge asked, still looking among them.

"We thought she was with you!" Ash replied.

"With us? We thought she was with you!" AJ replied.

There was a moment of confused silence before Ash broke the silence.

"I guess she teleported herself alone, she's probably making her way here. I guess we can stay a few days here until she catches up with us" Ash suggested hopefully, to which the others nodded in agreement.

"Wait! Where's Tracy?" Misty pointed out.

AJ and Surge looked at each other solemnly, "He's in the building" AJ said.

"Is he okay?" Brock inferred.

"He's not hurt… well physically at least. He's been kinda depressed" Surge informed the group.

"Over what?" Ash asked.

"You're better off asking him yourself," AJ suggested.

"Come in guys, you can rest and stock here. This place is great, the entire town was relocated here," Surge laughed as he began to walk away, tousling the fur on Raichu's hair in between his ears.

"Now that they're together, they'll probably be inseparable" Brock murmured to Misty who giggled.

Ash and the others barely managed to enter the building when a roar of laughter and happiness, as well as surprise slammed into them.

"TOM! TOM ATO HAS RETURNED! AND HIS FRIENDS ARE WITH HIM, ANNE CHOVIE AND CEASAR SALAD!" the men inside the building screamed.

Ash, Misty, and Brock all facepalmed simultaneously as Pikachu found a bottle of ketchup and dove for it.

"I can't believe they recognize us" Ash sighed.

"I can't believe they remember those names," Misty groaned.

"I can't believe they have butter!" James, Meowth and Jessie cried out in excitement, moving over to table where a feast had been set out.

"Ash, what're they talking about?" Dawn asked while tugging on Ash's shirt.

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later" Ash said, turning his attention to the interior of the building. The lights were dimmed, but gave the feeling of a cozy home by the fireplace. The walls were made of concrete with a mixture of wood and steel to support the rest of the structure. Furniture of all types was arranged to every wall of the room, a cylindrical flight of stairs in the corner of the room had a group of people descending with plates of more food. Pictures were adorned all over the room, cluttering the walls to leave no space blank while it surrounded the newcomers.

A nurse Joy fell into Brock's sights, he sprung forward to woo her, only to be stopped by his Croagunk. Surge was draping his arms over the shoulders of two other men, each of them laughing and drinking beer. AJ was also drinking beer, caring not that he was still technically underage.

Pikachu licked the spurts of ketchup that he squeezed from the bottle happily, it had been a while since he had gotten to eat ketchup and he was enjoying it. The ex rockets were stuffing their faces without remorse.

"What's all this for?" Ash inquired.

"You're welcoming party. Tracy told us that you were coming from looking at his Pokeglov. We decided to have a party not only for you…but because everyone was down in the dumps. Now everyone's livened up and gotten to know each other, I didn't even know that Joys could hold their liquor" Surge quietly chuckled.

"Where's Tracy?" Ash asked, looking around the slurred singing people and drunkenly dancing men.

"He's…upstairs. You sure you wanna have a buzz kill so quickly?" Surge warned.

"I wanna make sure he's alright" Ash insisted, heading up the stairs. Ash told Misty and Dawn to stay and enjoy themselves, ignoring Duplica entirely. The building was originally supposed to be the Yas and Kas gym. He had helped them unite and rebuild the town that they were destroying with their street fights. Ash had turned each gym's signature Pokemon, Scythers and Electabuzzes against their owners in using the color red to make them go into a made frenzy of rage where they would attack anything, much like a Tauros.

* * *

While Ash had been gone, the gyms had combined and turned into a single gym. When the dampeners were removed, the city had ended up being destroyed, no one was killed but many were severely injured. The Yas/Kas gym decided to take responsibility and used their extra room to house the entire town with room to spare.

Ash met with the original leaders of both gyms as he ascended to the next floor, bowing to the great Tom Ato, founder of the Yas/Kas gym. They now wore a mixture of the separate outfits, green overalls over blue jumpsuit pants, black shirts, with red boots and gloves. Orange capes were wrapped around their necks as they wore green fingerless gloves, the same that Ash had worn when he was a child. The insignias were now a K and Y on the front with the symbol that was on Ash's cap when he first came to Dark Town. The outfits looked ridiculous, Ash could tell that they were trying to integrate the two gyms and Ash's old outfit to the uniform of the gym. He would never tell them his true feeling about the outfits, so not to hurt their feelings or get on their bad side.

Once Ash had finished exchanging greeting, told them his real name and explained the reason behind the lie, he proceeded upwards, passing the kitchen floor and the infirmary floor, seeing that many of the people there were wounded, and the next floor appeared to be a meeting room. Another thing that Ash noticed was that there were other rooms that surrounded the main rooms he passed through. Most of them were balconies except for the ones up top that had been converted into individual homes for the people now living there.

All the doors were closed except for one, a ferocious scream bellowing from the ominous black depths of the room. Ash proceeded cautiously, opening the door slowly and letting the light enter. He activated the Pokeglovs light, scanning the room until he saw something move.

"Tracy?" Ash called out into the blackness, receiving only panting as his answer.

"Ash?" Tracy exhaled, finally saying something after what seemed like an eternity of silence.

"Tracy, are you okay? What're you doing here? There's a party downstairs, everyone made it back except Sabrina, but she'll probably come later, we even found another survivor. Her name's Duplica and you should see what her Dittos are able to do now that they're undamp-" Ash began saying as he came closer to Tracy who had settled into a corner. Somehow, despite the darkness, Ash could tell where Tracy was exactly was.

"GO AWAY!" Tracy roared, Ash flinched and ceased his advancement.

"Tracy, what's wrong?" Ash asked, a mixture of concern and fear in his voice.

"Isn't it ironic? Eh? ISN'T IT!" Tracy's cackle turning into a scream.

"What is?"

"We…I…set out to find a safe haven, so that hopefully any people who had Pokemon in Oak's ranch would find themselves at that haven and take the Pokemon I had brought there from the ranch. I carried them in Pokeglovs, had every Pokemon that was in the ranch that didn't belong to any of us. Carried them in every Pokeglov the Professor and me had, along with the blueprints, all of it in my backpack. And in an instant, the Muk destroys all of it, the blueprints, the Pokemon, and any notes or supplies I still had in my backpack.

Then, as if to add insult to injury, Sabrina teleports me to a safe haven, the very place we had been looking for ever since we departed from Pallet Town. Isn't that ironic? That I lose the very cargo I was trying to deliver just seconds before I make it to the destination. Maybe this is Sabrina's way of joking with me. Ha Ha Ha, Sabrina, very funny.

**See**, I'm **laughing**. I'm being a good sport about it; it's so _fucking_ hilarious. Are you laughing too Sabrina? IS THIS FUNNY ENOUGH FOR YOU? DOES MY SUFFERING MAKE YOU FUCKING HAPPY?" Tracy was now standing, screaming at the ceiling.

"T-Tracy, calm do-"

"SHUT UP! WHY THE FUCK DO I HAVE TO CALM DOWN? EH! I'VE LOST EVERYTHING! MY MENTOR, MY HOME, MY PARENTS, MY PURPOSE, MY SKETCHES, MY **_SANITY_**!"

"You still have your Pokemon, your health, your li-"

"SHUT UP!" Tracy was now panting and wheezing.

"I never understood why you didn't use the Pokemon that belonged to the other trainers to help us. You and I know that there's a good chance that their real trainers who are probably all over the world are most likely dead"

"For one thing, they aren't our Pokemon to use. Their loyalties lied with their trainers. If we told them that their trainers were dead, they would consider themselves free, and try to kill anything that stood in their way of that. We weren't their trainers; they held no allegiance to us, why would they do anything that we said. The dampeners make it so that even if you traded your Pokemon to someone, they would still hold an allegiance to their original trainer, not like before where their memories were modified slightly and they became almost blindly obedient to their new trainers.

All the Pokemon that weren't yours at the ranch were weaker than everyone's Pokemon. They would've died the second they were introduced into any of our battles, that and run away or turn on us. Having all of them grow to accept and become loyal to us would've taken too long. I knew that there was a very small chance of their real owners coming along and retrieving their Pokemon, but then again, there was a small chance that you were going to appear at our doorstep.

I knew it was a crazy idea, I needed to do something, anything than let the Pokemon starve and rot in their Pokeballs or escape into the wild to become murderous creatures and breed more of themselves. I promised them that I would find their trainers, and If I didn't, then when we were safe, like we are now, I would have all the time I would need to slowly convert them and train them to make them our Pokemon. Now that's impossible. They're all dead" Tracy began to sob.

"I lost a Pokemon too, Tracy. My Gliscor died in that last battle," Ash pointed out.

"You lost _one _Pokemon. I LOST OVER A HUNDRED! YOUR LOSSES DON'T EVEN BEGIN TO COMPARE WITH MINE! I failed Oak and all those people; I don't know what to do anymore"

"Tracy, maybe you need some time alone. To think. We'll stay here for a few days and get ready to head off to find survivors in-"

"I'm not going with you. I'm not leaving this place, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind and say otherwise. You can go off and get killed for all I care; you're stupid to leave a safe place like this."

"You don't mean that. You-"

"Yes…yes I do" Tracy interrupted.

* * *

Ash slowly descended down the stairs, seeing that each balcony had a Pokemon stationed to it from the trainers of the Yas/Kas gym. He saw Hitmonlees, Hitmonchans, Machamps, Primeapes, Kinglers, Golems, Rhydons, Raticates, Electivires, and Scythers.

"I guess this place is a pretty good haven" Ash thought, hearing the drunken karaoke the closer he got to ground zero.

Misty was dancing to the music that played loudly through the speakers situated at every corner of the room, the nurse Joy that Ash saw now looked entirely different with her hair down and her hat missing, clinging to Brock's arm as he drank with the rest of the trainers at the table, looking happier than Ash had ever seen him be in a while as he laughed and told stories.

Jessie, James, and Meowth were all stuffed, passed out in a corner of the room. Duplica was the life of the party, doing her imitations with the Dittos had made her into the center of attention. The men all clapped, hooted, yelled, and whistled after every trick she did, the buzz made her performance look more appealing. Surge was in the same Position as Ash had seen him when he had left.

"From the look on your face I can tell ya already met with Tracy. I warned ya didn't I? He's been like that since we got out of the mess when he appeared here" Surge broke away from his newly acquired drinking buddies.

"What happened?" Ash asked.

Surge found two empty seats, sitting down and waiting until Ash was seated before he continued.

"When we got here, all the Pokemon were feeding, the second that the Electivires and Scythers saw the red from Tracy's Pokeglov, they went crazy and tried to kill him. I managed to hold off a few of them with my knife until their trainers stopped them. With the dampeners gone, the sight of red makes it harder to ignore and they go even crazier. It's a good thing that I didn't kill any of their Pokemon; otherwise they probably wouldn't have been so kind ta us. Just make sure that you don't let the Electivires or Scythers see your Pokeglovs, that why they're outside for tonight with the other Pokemon keeping watch.

I explained our situation afterwards and they let us stay here until you guys found us, which we figured you would. Tracy took his losses pretty hard; I tried to snap him out of it several times, to the point where I thought roughing him up a little would work. As you can see, it didn't. He at least had the decency of telling us ahead of time when you guys would be coming and that you were all alive.

I told the people here and they thought it would be nice to do a surprise to take some of their surplus food and do a feast to commemorate your arrival, reunion, and survival. This place is safe and all, but I know we're only gonna stay here a few days and leave to find other safe places and people, right?"

"Yeah" Ash replied, "Tracy's staying behind though."

"I expected that. You've gotta understand that he's a broken man. I've seen his type during the war. He'll come around and be stronger if his depression doesn't kill him" Surge started to get up and leave. Just before he did, he turned to Ash, "You might wanna watch her for awhile."

Ash turned to see Dawn was sitting right next to him, rocking herself back and forth lazily. Her entire face was red, her lids were half shut, and her breath reeked of alcohol.

"No way! Dawn did you drink the beer?" Ash asked aghast.

"No…I (hic) I …they said it was soda…(hic) and I drank some. Misty and (hic) Duplica did too"

"You're kidding me" Ash groaned, turning to see what Misty and Duplica were still doing until Dawn pulled him back towards her.

"Ash…(hic) you never answered my question at the barn…(hic)…who d'you like more?" Dawn said, slurring some of her words.

"Dawn, you're drunk right now. I'll answer your questions when you're sober" Ash replied, trying to turn again once more, only to be pulled back to face Dawn.

"Ib not Drunk" Dawn hiccupped.

"That's what all drunk people say," Ash countered.

"Who cares? I can be as want as I drunk a be," Dawn snapped.

"I feel like your mom would care. I'm supposed to take care of you, remember" Ash answered back, suddenly regretting his choice of words when Dawn's eyes started to water up.

"Mom" Dawn's lip quivered and she began to cry on Ash's shoulder.

"Dawn, Dawn it's okay. She's fine; I know it. We'll find her and bring her here to be safe" Ash consoled. Dawn's crying quickly ceased, replaced with Dawn now nuzzling lovingly into Ash's arm and clinging to it as if for dear life.

"You're so warm, and nice, and kind and…" Dawn mumbled.

"This is gonna be a long night" Ash sighed, "her mom won't like this if she ever finds out. I really hope she's alive, for Dawn's sake."

Ash looked at Dawn again, now asleep, hoping that this crazy world wouldn't break her as well like it had Tracy and he himself. He turned to look around, seeing that Surge had secured a table where a line of men came to arm-wrestle him. Surge had gone undefeated. After several matches, the table couldn't take the strain and split in half, Surge and the others laughing it off.

Ash turned to see Misty still dancing, Ash having a hard time telling if she was drunk or not. A part of him grew a little annoyed that she was dancing with several different partners.

"You do love her then!" Dawn pouted. Ash turned, unable to deny that her reddened pouting face was adorable.

"What makes you say that?"

You keep staring at her" Dawn grumbled.

"I just wanna make sure she's – just go back to sleep Dawn" Ash suddenly ordered.

"Okay" Dawn yawned and fell back asleep on his arm, clinging to him tightly and anchoring him to the chair.

"_I didn't think that would actually work_" Ash thought, looking over to Surge who had just looked over to him. After seeing his situation for a few seconds, Surge gave him a thumbs up and smiled.

"_Dammit, why do I feel he planned this? Does he really expect me to do anything_?" Ash groaned.

Ash's head nearly went full circle when he heard the roaring cries of the guys yelling the same word over and over again.

"Strip! Strip! Strip!" the men hollered.

Ash turned to see Duplica, now quite sure that she was drunk, slowly slipping off her shirt. Despite his feelings towards her after the prank, Ash couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene. From the looks of it, she was bigger than Misty, probably because she was older, or at least old enough to have her own mansion and live alone.

In a single swift movement, Duplica tore off her shirt, revealing another shirt that was exactly the same as the one she had just torn off. The shirt in her hand turned into a Ditto, the men that had been whistling and cheering were now laughing and exchanging money from bets they had lost. Duplica laughed at the ones that drunkenly called her a tease, she stuck her tongue out at them.

"I guess her way of coping with this crazy world is jokes and pranks" Ash sighed, understanding her a little better, and laughing at how she had gotten the guys hopes up, even his. Ash eyed the bottle that Dawn had drunken from; it was barely empty. He wondered whether he should drink it or not, it wasn't like he was going to get in trouble with his mom. What worried him was whether or not he would be acting like Dawn and say things he would regret later.

"_Well, it's a party_" Ash reminded himself, "_a party… yeah I guess that's what this is, isn't it_?"

It had been so long since he had actually had a party, and after all they had been through, he felt that the others deserved a party. It had been nearly a month of hardship, and a party was the perfect pick-me-up. Ash picked up the bottle and took a sip, finding that the alcohol was barely noticeable and weak, and that the drink actually tasted good.

"_Wow, if Dawn got drunk off this, she really can't hold her alcohol. Then again, she is ten_" Ash thought, letting the party go off into the night.

* * *

It was noon when everyone had woken up and it was full of agonized groaning. Ash woke up with a start, finding that Dawn and Misty's sleeping forms flanked him on each side. Surge stood over him, can of beer in hand, and smiled evilly.

Ash frowned, "not a word."

"What can I say, you're living the dream you dog you," Surge chuckled and walked away. Ash had never felt so trapped before in his life, afraid that every time he breathed, he would disturb and wake up the girls on him.

His pokeglov whirred to life, Tracy's greatly distorted voice managed to make its way through Ash's heavily damaged Pokeglov.

"Sorry Misty, Dawn, Tracy needs me for a second" Ash said, squeezing himself out from between the two girls and heading upstairs. After a few groans Misty and Dawn eased themselves back onto the floor, going back to sleep with ease. Brock also got the message, hating Tracy for making him leave the peacefully sleeping nurse joy's side. He had half a mind to ignore it when Croagunk pointed to the direction of the stairs.

"Go" Croagunk commanded.

Brock's arms slumped, "fine" he repeated dejectedly

Both Brock and Ash entered Tracy's room; AJ was already there, waiting for them. Ash decided it would be for the best if he held back on his feelings towards what Tracy and he had talked about.

"I hope you all had fun last night" Tracy said soullessly, sounding and acting completely different from the other night.

"What's this about, Tracy?" Brock asked.

"Straight to the point! I like that. Well, as some of you already know, I'm staying here while you guys go off to find more…survivors. AJ will be staying with me as well," Tracy informed.

"AJ!" Ash blurted out.

"I didn't think we would ever find a safe haven, but here it is. I'm just gonna stay to see how long this thing lasts. Besides, if something does come to knock it down, I think me an Sandslash can probably take it down" AJ explained.

"Surge won't be staying, and Samurai has also decided to go with you. Right now he and Pikachu are going back to the forest to ask the Pikachu you met earlier to join us here at the haven. They won't be captured or harassed and will be rewarded for their help with food and shelter. You can never have too much help. There is one other thing. One other person will have to stay behind with me," Tracy said nonchalantly.

"Why?" Ash asked.

"Because, with the blueprints to the Pokeglovs gone, I will have to take one of the working ones and build it from memory and scratch. They have the resources here to build another one" Tracy explained.

"I guess I'm out then," Ash said, holding up his arm and showing the extensive damage done to his Pokeglov.

"What the hell happened to it?" AJ remarked.

"Guns and diamond hooves" Ash plainly replied, "I was gonna ask you to replace it but it seems you don't have anything to replace it with. You can't give me yours since it's bonded to your genetic structure for life."

"I wouldn't count you out just yet. You could stay and have me repair it while everyone else went on and searched. I can even do what I did to Brock's Pokeglov and have it be able to talk long distances. Though, I thought that you should know Brock, if you decide to go, you won't be able to talk with your family. Past this point it will be extremely hard for your Pokeglov to extend a link with your mother's Pokeglov. You could stay here and have me analyze the Pokeglov and still be able to talk to Ash and the others as well as your mother and family. You would also be able to do a long distance trade with the others if they needed your Pokemon by any chance" Tracy offered.

Brock looked at Ash, Ash nodded, knowing that Brock's mother would've wanted him to be safe, and things looked like they were only going to get more dangerous the further they ventured into Kanto.

"Alright then, I'll stay" Brock relented.

"Excellent, you can leave now Ash. Brock I want to start checking the Pokeglov so if you would please stay" Tracy asked. Brock sighed, thinking back to the nurse Joy that was probably still sleeping; still waiting for him at couch they had been sleeping on.

"_If I stay here, I'll be able to spend more time with her anyway_" Brock thought and smiled.

Ash descended the next flights of stairs, the old Yas and Kas gym leaders informing him that they were resupplying his rations and medical supplies for the journey, complimenting him on his bravery for going out into the now vicious world of Kanto. Ash thanked them; consoled when they told him that resuppplying their cache of needs barely put a dent into the main supply.

Waiting for him at the bottom floor were Pikachu and Samurai. Samurai had spent the entire night outside, the music being too loud for him and the smell of alcohol too overwhelming.

"How did it go?" Ash asked weakly.

"Wonderfully, Pikachu insisted that I bring Ketchup and they were hooked onto the idea the second we introduced it to them" Samurai explained. Ash peered over his shoulder, seeing dozens of Pikachu waiting outside.

"_What can I say, I know my own kind_" Pikachu smiled.

Ash smiled too, thinking how they would spend the next day here resting, considering how Misty complained about her legs hurting like crazy from all the dancing and Dawn from the headache she got from drinking.

With two Chanseys, the people in the infirmary would be on their feet in no time. Brock had talked to him about the situation with Duplica, making him consider forgiving her a little more. Ash hoped that Sabrina would find her way to this haven or that they would meet up with her ahead as they searched for survivors. He still had to find Dawn's mother and find Gary to deliver his father's will and hopefully Ritchie's path would cross with his.

They would round up the survivors out there and bring them back here, a place that they could finally call safe. Hopefully they would also be able to find other safe places out in Kanto, but until then, Ash had every intention of finding Dawn's mother, Gary, and any other survivors in Sinnoh.

* * *

**Please note that I do not approve of underage drinking, unless the world has gone to hell, then I think it's okay. **


End file.
